A shingles vaccine, available on the NHS, could cut the risk of dementia by up to 27 per cent compared with vaccines for other diseases, a study shows.
This painful and serious condition, which mainly affects older people, can cause an uncomfortable skin rash and lead to serious problems such as deafness, long-term pain and even blindness.
In 2021, a vaccine called Shingrix was introduced on the NHS, replacing a previous shingles vaccine called Zostavax.
And now, a major study has shown that Shingrix is linked to a “significantly” lower risk of dementia compared with Zostavax and vaccines for other diseases, which have also been shown to reduce the risk of developing the disease.
Researchers at the University of Oxford analyzed data from more than 200,000 people in the US, where the Shingrix vaccine has been used the longest.
A major study has shown that Shingrix is linked to a “significantly” lower risk of dementia compared with Zostavax and vaccines for other diseases
Some of the people involved had received the previous vaccine Zostavax, while others had been given Shingrix.
Over six years, the team found that Shingrix was linked to a 17 percent lower risk of dementia than the previously used Zostavax, and that women benefited more than men.
However, compared with people who had just received vaccines against other infections, such as influenza and tetanus, those who received Shingrix had a 23 to 27 percent lower risk of developing dementia.
Dr Maxime Taquet, academic clinical lecturer at the Department of Psychiatry at Oxford, who led the study, said: ‘The size and nature of this study make these findings compelling and should motivate further research.
‘They support the hypothesis that vaccination against herpes zoster could prevent dementia.
‘If validated in clinical trials, these findings could have significant implications for older adults, health services and public health.’
John Todd, professor of precision medicine at the Nuffield Department of Medicine at the University of Oxford, said: ‘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) may increase the risk of dementia and therefore by inhibiting the virus the vaccine could reduce this risk.
‘Alternatively, the vaccine also contains chemicals that could have independent beneficial effects on brain health.’
In the UK, people are offered two doses of Shingrix when they turn 65 on the NHS, provided their 65th birthday was on or after 1 September 2023.
Those who turned 65 before this date are eligible for the shingles vaccine when they turn 70, while everyone between 70 and 79 years of age is also eligible.
People aged 50 and over with a severely weakened immune system are offered a vaccine.
Evidence shows that Shingrix, made by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), can provide at least a decade of protection against shingles after the first injection.
Hundreds of participants were assessed for their healthy lifestyle, and scored between zero and six based on all the different factors. Volunteers who did not sweat for at least ten minutes a day for three or four days a week scored nothing. The other two factors related to lifestyle habits were related to alcohol consumption, smoking and sleep quality. Social interaction and hobbies were the other two factors.
Around 900,000 Britons are currently thought to have the memory-impairing disorder. But scientists at University College London estimate this figure will rise to 1.7 million within two decades as people live longer. This is a 40% increase on the previous forecast in 2017.
There are multiple possible signs of dementia, a memory-destroying disease that affects nearly one million Britons and seven million Americans.
Professor Paul Harrison, a psychiatrist and OH BRC theme leader for molecular targets, who oversaw the study, said: ‘The findings are intriguing and encouraging.
“Anything that can reduce the risk of dementia will be welcome, given the large and growing number of people affected.”
Dr Sheona Scales, director of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, welcomed the study but said further research was needed.
He said it was “not clear how the vaccine might reduce the risk, or whether the vaccine causes a reduction in dementia risk directly, or whether there is another factor at play.”
“While research continues into whether vaccines affect dementia risk, people should be aware that there are other factors that have been definitively linked to an increased risk of dementia,” she added.
‘These include things like smoking, high blood pressure and excessive alcohol consumption.’
Dr. Taquet said the team’s interpretation of the data is that the vaccine works to delay dementia rather than prevent it altogether, although more research is needed.
