The Shingrix vaccine has been linked to a 17% drop in dementia diagnoses in the six years after vaccination than the previously-used Zostavax jab, according to a new study Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info The shingles vaccine provided by the NHS significantly reduces the risk of dementia, a recent study has revealed.
The research, which experts have deemed "convincing", indicates that the Shingrix vaccine is associated with at least a 17% decrease in dementia diagnoses in the six years following vaccination compared to the previously used Zostavax jab. Researchers from the University of Oxford suggest this translates to an additional five to nine months of life without dementia for those administered the Shingrix jab as opposed to other vaccines. Both genders benefited from the newer jab, but the effects were more pronounced in women, according to the study.
Shingles, a common condition characterised by a painful rash, can occasionally result in severe complications such as deafness, persistent pain, and blindness. The likelihood of contracting shingles increases with age, and it tends to cause more serious issues in older demographics, reports Gloucestershire Live . Dr Maxime Taquet, an academic clinical lecturer in the department of psychiatry at Oxford, who spearheaded the study involving over 200,000 individuals, said: "The size and nature of this study makes these findings convincing and should motivate further research.
They support the hypothesis that vaccination against shingles might prevent dementia. If validated in clinical trials, these findings could have significant implications for older adults, health services and public health." Professor John Todd from the University of Oxford's Nuffield Department of Medicine has posed an intriguing question regarding the potential benefits of a vaccine in protecting against dementia, stating: "A key question is, how does the vaccine produce its apparent benefit in protecting against dementia? One possibility is that infection with the Herpes zoster virus (shingles) might increase the risk of dementia and, therefore, by inhibiting the virus the vaccine could reduce this risk.
Alternatively, the vaccine also contains chemicals which might have separate beneficial effects on brain health." Dr Taquet, part of the research team, believes that the vaccine is more likely to delay the onset of dementia rather than prevent it entirely, but emphasises that further investigation is necessary. The NHS currently offers two doses of Shingrix to individuals when they reach 65 years old, provided their birthday falls on or after September 1, 2023.
Those who turned 65 before this date can receive the shingles vaccine at age 70, and it is also available to all individuals between 70 and 79 years old. Additionally, people over 50 with severely compromised immune systems are eligible for vaccination. Shingrix, produced by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), has been shown to offer protection against shingles for at least ten years following the initial dose.
The latest study, published in Nature Medicine, aims to explore the preliminary evidence suggesting that Zostavax, the previous vaccine, may also offer some defence against dementia. In the United States, Zostavax was replaced by Shingrix in October 2017, providing a unique opportunity to compare the two vaccines. Researchers analysed the risk of dementia in individuals six years after the introduction of Shingrix and compared it with similar individuals who had received Zostavax.
Each group consisted of 103,837 individuals. Shingrix was also compared with individuals who had been vaccinated against other infections (flu and tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis). The findings revealed that Shingrix was associated with a 17% lower risk of dementia than Zostavax, and 23%-27% less than with the other vaccines.
The benefits were more pronounced in women than men, with women experiencing 22% versus 13% more time lived without a diagnosis of dementia. Dr Sheona Scales, director of research at Alzheimer's Research UK, welcomed the study but emphasised the need for further research. She stated that it "isn't clear how the vaccine might be reducing risk, nor whether the vaccine causes a reduction in dementia risk directly, or whether there's another factor at play".
She continued: "While research into whether vaccines affect dementia risk continues, people should be aware that there are other factors that have definitively been linked to an increased dementia risk. These include things like smoking, high blood pressure and excessive alcohol consumption.".
