Flu shots, COVID vaccines, RSV vaccines...There's a lot to stay on top of -- especially if you're 50 and older. It's easy to see how vaccines for health conditions that don't make headlines as much as COVID or the flu (which everyone seems to be getting this time of year) can be forgotten about. One example is the shingles vaccine.
The shingles vaccine is recommended for people 50 and older. While the primary reason for this is to protect against shingles, of course, there's an added benefit many aren't aware of. Scientific research shows a connection between getting the shingles vaccine and a lower risk of dementia.
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What Is the Connection Between Shingles and Dementia?
The scientific name for shingles is herpes zoster, which is different from oral or genital herpes. (They are both caused by herpes viruses, but shingles is not a sexually transmitted infection.) Shingles is a viral illness that stems from being previously infected with chickenpox. After getting chickenpox, the virus can remain dormant in the body for many years until manifests as shingles.
Symptoms of shingles include pain, itchiness and a rash that looks like a stripe of blisters on the left or right side of the body, around the rib cage or waist. It can also appear on the face. "Most adults have the herpes virus, which is the same virus that causes chickenpox, living quietly in their bodies. If you are not vaccinated, the virus has a very high likelihood of eventually activating which causes shingles," says Dr. Sharon A. Brangman, MD., FACP, AGSF, a Distinguished Service Professor of Geriatrics Medicine and Director of the Center for Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease at SUNY Upstate Medical University.
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Dr. Brangman explains that the reason why getting the shingles vaccine can lower the risk of dementia isn't known, but there are several theories. She says that one theory is that the shingles vaccine helps to prevent inflammation. "Shingles is associated with inflammation that damages nerve cells in the brain, especially when the herpes virus activates within the brain," she says.
Dr. David Canaday, MD, a professor in the Division of Infectious Disease at Case Western University, adds to this saying that shingles could promote dementia in brain tissue, so getting the vaccine could help protect against this. "The virus may cause damage within the walls of the blood vessels in the brain. Alzheimer's disease is associated with the buildup of a toxic protein in the brain called amyloid. Vaccines may help our immune system more effectively remove toxic amyloid proteins in the brain, which may reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease," Dr. Brangman says.
While getting the shingles vaccine helps protect against shingles (and therefore may lower the risk of dementia), both doctors say that there is no evidence that the vaccine changes the progression of Alzheimer's disease or any other type of dementia. This means that if someone already has dementia, getting the shingles vaccine will not stop its symptoms.
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Are There Other Vaccines That Lower the Risk of Dementia?
The connection between the shingles vaccine and a lower risk of dementia certainly is intriguing. Now you may be wondering if there are other vaccines with a similar connection. "Besides the shingles vaccine, the flu vaccine may have a smaller chance of helping lower the risk of dementia," Dr. Canaday says. Dr. Brangman also says that staying on top of yearly flu vaccines may help lower the risk of dementia, along with the vaccine for pneumococcus. Scientific research backs this up, showing that the flu vaccine is associated with a 17% reduced risk of dementia while the pneumococcal vaccine is linked to a 63% reduced risk -- that's major!
Additionally, Dr. Brangman says that the Tdap vaccine, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough, is also linked with lowering the risk of dementia. One study shows it may lower the risk by as much as 42%.
Dr. Canaday says that the reason why all these vaccines may lower the risk of dementia is because they all serve as ways to prevent inflammation. The more you can do to stay healthy, the better. "These are all very compelling reasons to talk with your healthcare provider to make sure you are up to date with all recommended vaccines. In addition to staying up on vaccines, we also encourage people not to wait to talk to their health care provider about their brain health," Dr. Brandman says.
Consider this your sign to talk to your healthcare provider about the shingles vaccine -- or any others you may need -- today!
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Sources Dr. Sharon A. Brangman, MD., FACP, AGSF, Distinguished Service Professor of Geriatrics Medicine and Director of the Center for Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease at SUNY Upstate Medical UniversityDr. David Canaday, MD, professor in the Division of Infectious Disease at Case Western University