A SHINGLES jab could reduce your dementia risk by 20 per cent, research suggests.
Vaccines are offered free on the NHS to everyone in their 70s, as well as some over-65s following an expansion in 2023.
The infection is similar to chickenpox and causes a painful rash that can be severe for older people, who are most likely to get it.
Scientists think the varicella-zoster virus that causes it may increase the risk of dementia.
Research by Stanford University in the USA compared medical records from 280,000 people in Wales before and after its vaccine rollout began in 2013.
It found people who received the jab at age 79 were a fifth less likely to have dementia seven years later, in their mid-80s.
This adds to past findings that suggest herpes viruses increase dementia risk and vaccination could offer protection.
Study author Dr Pascal Geldsetzer said: “This was a really striking finding.
“This huge protective signal was there any way you looked at the data.”
He said the population study was almost as good as a clinical trial because a strict age cut-off made it easy to compare people of similar age and health status.
Dementia is the UK’s leading cause of death and about one million people have it.
About one in four experience shingles at some point.
Uptake of the vaccine is low in the UK, with fewer than half of eligible people taking up the offer.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR A SHINGLES VACCINE?
SHINGLES vaccination is mainly offered depending on age because the infection is more common in older people and can be more severe for them.
These are the eligibility criteria in England and Wales:
- All 70 to 79-year-olds
- 65 to 69-year-olds who turned 65 on or after 1st September 2023
- People aged 50 or over with a severely weakened immune system, for example due to blood cancer or organ transplant
The vaccine is administered in two doses spaced between six and 12 months apart.
Patients should contact their GP to find out more or book a jab.
The study involved an older version of the shingles jab named Zostavax.
The NHS now uses Shingrix, which is newer and a major study by manufacturer GSK is under way to see if that has the same impact on dementia risk.
It should offer the same protection if tackling the shingles virus is proven to be what shields the brain.
Professor Anthony Hannan, of the Florey Institute in Australia, was not part of the study but said: “It is possible that the vaccine had direct effects on the brain’s immune cells, but it is also possible that the vaccine acted by slowing brain aging or enhancing resilience.
“The next step is to work out exactly how this vaccine exerts its protective effects and use that information to develop new ways to prevent and treat dementia.
“It also increases the likelihood that in future there may be specific vaccination programs whose primary aim is to prevent dementia.”
The study was published in the journal Nature.
