An episode of the painful viral illness shingles is tied to a 20% higher odds of cognitive decline It's thought that the shingles virus could harm blood flow to the brain The effect was stronger still among men who carried a gene known to enhance dementia risk WEDNESDAY, Aug. 14, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Older Americans already dread shingles, and they may now have one more reason to do so: A painful episode could raise their odds for cognitive decline. A new study found a 20% higher risk that an older person would experience "subjective cognitive decline" if they'd gone through a bout of shingles.
That was especially true for men who already carried the APOE4 gene, known to raise the odds for cognitive decline and dementia. "Our findings show long-term implications of shingles and highlight the importance of public health efforts to prevent and promote uptake of the shingles vaccine," said corresponding study author , of the Channing Division for Network Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "Given the growing number of Americans at risk for this painful and often disabling disease and the availability of a very effective vaccine, shingles vaccination could provide a valuable opportunity to reduce the burden of shingles and possibly reduce the burden of subsequent cognitive decline," she added in a hospital news release.
The study was funded by GlaxoSmithKline, which makes the Shingrix shingles vaccine. It was published Aug. 13 in the journal The new study come.