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Shingles vaccine linked to dementia risk reduction
The new research found those vaccinated had their risk of new dementia diagnoses reduced by 20% over seven years.
Experts say it is important for GPs to discuss the risk of shingles with patients and encourage vaccination, especially among women.
New research out of Wales has found that shingles vaccines may have a role to play in reducing the risk of the second-leading cause of death in Australia – dementia.
According to a new study of more than 280,000 people in Wales, the live-attenuated varicella zoster virus vaccine (Zostavax) reduced the risk of diagnosis of dementia by 20% over a seven-year period.
Published last week in Nature, the study is based on adults born between September 1925 and September 1942 who are registered with a primary healthcare provider – as are more than 98% of adults in Wales – and who had no dementia diagnosis at the start of the vaccine program.
When researchers compared new dementia diagnoses between the vaccine-eligible and ineligible populations, they also found that the protective effect was stronger among women than men.
In Australia, recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV, sold as Shingrix) replaced Zostavax on the National Immunisation Program (NIP) in 2023 due to its better efficacy.
A subsidised shingles vaccination is available under the NIP for:
- people aged 65 and over
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 and over
- people aged 18 or over considered at increased risk of shingles due to certain treatments or underlying conditions.
However, the Australian Immunisation Handbook
recommends vaccination for all people aged 50 and over.
Chair of RACGP Specific Interests Dementia Dr Stephanie Daly said a course of Shingrix can cost around $300, ‘so it’s not accessible to all’.
Dr Daly also suggests that by the time people can access free shingles vaccination, it may be too late for any possible protective benefits.
‘The theory is that the Alzheimer’s path builds up years before symptoms, and people can have symptoms from age 65 up, so it’s a bit late potentially for some people,’ she told
newsGP.
Dr Daly said there has been ‘a long hypothesis’ that shingles or other pathogens may lead to Alzheimer’s disease.
‘If the study showed a reduction of incidence of Alzheimer’s disease, that would generally be a good thing and should motivate us to promote shingles vaccination,’ she said.
Member of RACGP Specific Interests Dementia Dr Marita Long called shingles a ‘miserable illness’ and said it was important for GPs to discuss the risk of shingles with their patients and encourage vaccination, especially among women.
‘If a side benefit [of shingles vaccination] is dementia risk reduction – and studies look promising – then of course we should raise this as it may help encourage uptake,’ she told
newsGP.
However, Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases President Dr Joseph Doyle said the Welsh study’s observational design meant people should be ‘cautious’ in assuming the vaccine was solely responsible for the decline in dementia diagnoses.
‘It is plausible that episodes of infection, immune system changes, or healthcare engagement are among the factors behind this association, but further research is needed to help determine whether there is a causal link,’ he said.
Moving forward, the researchers said future study will determine whether Shingrix will provide the same benefit and whether immunisation at younger ages may be just as effective.
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Alzheimers dementia shingles Shingrix vaccination Wales Zostavax