STAT+: Shingles vaccine may lower dementia risk, new study finds

A new study published this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that elderly nursing home residents who received at least one dose of the shingles vaccine, Shingrix, were 24 percent less likely to develop dementia over a four-year period compared to unvaccinated individuals. Shingrix is the only shingles vaccine currently available in the United States. This research contributes to a growing body of evidence suggesting a link between shingles, a viral infection, and cognitive decline. The study analyzed data from 1.3 million Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older who were residing in nursing homes. Researchers observed that the protective effect of the vaccine against dementia appeared to be more pronounced in individuals who received two doses of Shingrix, although the study did not have enough data to definitively confirm this. The findings suggest a potential public health benefit of widespread shingles vaccination in mitigating dementia risk among older adults.