Shingrix vaccine linked to 24% lower dementia risk in older adults

A large-scale study of older adults in skilled nursing facilities found that those who received the Shingrix shingles vaccine were 24% less likely to be diagnosed with dementia over the following four years compared to unvaccinated peers. The research, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, analyzed data from more than 500,000 individuals and suggests a potential neuroprotective benefit from the widely used vaccine, though it does not prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship.

The study, led by Kaley Hayes of Brown University’s School of Public Health, examined Medicare claims and electronic health records from 509,926 adults aged 66 and older. All participants had been admitted to more than 5,500 skilled nursing facilities across the United States between 2017 and 2022 and had no prior dementia diagnosis. Of this group, only 8,843 individuals had received at least one dose of the recombinant shingles vaccine, Shingrix, after entering a facility.

Over a four-year follow-up period, dementia was diagnosed in 18.8% of the vaccinated participants. In contrast, 24.6% of those who remained unvaccinated received a dementia diagnosis. The researchers estimated this difference...