Shingles vaccine may protect against dementia
Research we're watching
- Reviewed by Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
The shingles vaccine may significantly lower the odds of developing dementia — a protective effect that’s even greater in women, according to a study published May 8, 2025, in Nature.
Researchers examined health records from more than 280,000 older adults in Wales, which began offering shingles vaccinations with an age limit. People who were 80 or older on Sept. 1, 2013, were ineligible for the first-generation shingles vaccine, called Zostavax, while those who were 79 years old on that date could be vaccinated over the following year or so — and 47% chose to do so. Seven years later, participants who’d received the shingles vaccine were 20% less likely to have developed dementia than those who weren’t vaccinated — and the protective effect was markedly higher among women.
The shingles vaccine may protect against dementia in several ways, study authors said. By reducing the chance that the varicella-zoster virus — which causes chickenpox — can reactivate into shingles, the vaccine may combat virus-generated inflammation and sticky protein formation that’s implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. In the United States, the CDC recommends people 50 and older receive the latest version of the shingles vaccine, called Shingrix, which is given in two doses a few months apart.
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About the Author
Maureen Salamon, Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch
About the Reviewer
Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
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