A study led by Brown University researchers found that older adults who received the shingles vaccine currently used in the U.S. were less likely to be diagnosed with dementia within four years.
A study led by Brown University researchers found that older adults who received the shingles vaccine currently used in the U.S. were less likely to be diagnosed with dementia within four years.
Older adults who received a shingles vaccine after a stay in a skilled nursing facility had a 24% lower risk of being diagnosed with dementia over a four-year period than those who were not vaccinated, according to a new study.
The findings are based on an analysis of health records and Medicare data from more than 500,000 adults age 66 and older who were admitted to skilled nursing facilities for short or long-term care. Researchers compared those who received at least one dose of the recombinant shingles vaccine, known as RZV or Shingrix, with those who did not. The vaccine was introduced in 2017 and is the only shingles vaccine currently on the market.
“A lot of previous studies with similar results focused on an older vaccine,” said study author Kaley Hayes, an assistant professor at Brown University’s School of Public Health. “This study looks at the newest vaccine only in an older, vulnerable adult population who were not up to date with shingles vaccination and are at a very clear clinical point in care: entering a skilled nursing facility.”
Read More: Brown University
