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A study of more than 200,000 people by researchers at the University of Oxford funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre (OH BRC) found at least a 17% reduction in dementia diagnoses in the six years after the new recombinant shingles vaccination, equating to 164 or more additional days lived without dementia.
The benefit was seen in both sexes but was greater in women, and the findings suggest that the recombinant shingles vaccine may have additional value in terms of protection against dementia.
Shingles is a painful and serious condition afflicting many elderly people. It is caused by the Herpes zoster virus that can flare up in people who previously had chicken pox. After the introduction of a vaccine against shingles (Zostavax) in 2006, several studies have suggested that the risk of dementia might be lower in people who had received the vaccine, although results were not conclusive. In many countries, including the UK and USA, Zostavax has now been withdrawn and replaced by a much more effective vaccine (Shingrix). In the UK, Shingrix is being offered by the NHS to all elderly people and certain other groups.
In the new study, researchers at the University of Oxford and NIHR OH BRC used the USA TriNetX electronic health records network. In the USA, there was a switchover between Zostavax and Shingrix in October 2017. This allowed the researchers to compare the risk of dementia in the six years following Shingrix compared to otherwise similar people who had received Zostavax. More than 100,000 people were in each group. Shingrix was also compared to people who had received vaccines against other infections (flu and tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis).
Read the full story on the University of Oxford website.