Shingles Vaccine Reduces Risk of a Dementia Diagnosis

According to a cohort study using target trial emulation, older adults at higher risk for dementia are less likely to have a dementia diagnosis if they received a herpes zoster (shingles) vaccine.

Specifically, the study showed that among 500,000 people in skilled-nursing facilities for post-acute or long-term care, those who received the recombinant zoster vaccine (Shingrix) had a 24 percent lower risk of being diagnosed with dementia over four years compared with those not vaccinated. 

Receiving at least one zoster shot was tied to a cumulative four-year dementia risk that was 5.81 percentage points lower — 18.8 percent versus 24.6 percent with no vaccine, said Kaleen Hayes, PharmD, PhD, of the Brown University School of Public Health in Providence, Rhode Island, and co-authors.

“Our research is the first to our knowledge to specifically study the newer, more effective vaccine in a modern-day population of older adults entering skilled-nursing care,” said Dr. Hayes. “These folks are at high risk of both shingles and dementia, have been excluded from trials and have historically had low uptake of the vaccine. So, evidence on the benefits of vaccination is especially key to support use of the vaccine in this population.”