While most people think of shingles as an intensely painful skin condition, new research suggests the vaccine designed to prevent it could do far more than stop a rash. A study from Wales has found that receiving the shingles vaccine may reduce your chances of developing dementia later in life, a disease with no definitive cure.
Shingles, caused by the varicella-zoster virus, is no ordinary rash. This virus lies dormant in your nerve cells after childhood chickenpox, only to rear its head later in life, particularly when your immune system is weakened. Shingles typically presents as a band of painful blisters, often wrapping around one side of the torso, and in some cases can lead to serious complications like vision loss or brain inflammation.
What’s concerning is that even after the rash disappears, nerve pain can linger. Adults over 50, and those with weakened immunity, are most vulnerable. However, vaccines like Zostavax and Shingrix are available to reduce the risk of a shingles outbreak, and now, scientists say they may also help protect your brain.
Also read | Do you have diabetes? Here's why you should be worried about shingles
A Welsh experiment:
For years, health records showed that people who got the shingles vaccine seemed less likely to develop dementia. But critics argued this might just be because vaccinated people tend to take better care of their health. Then came the Welsh study. Due to a policy decision, only people who were 79 or 80 years old in 2013 were offered the shingles vaccine that year, creating a rare natural experiment. People slightly younger or older missed out. This accidental grouping resembled the gold standard of medical research, a randomised trial.
After seven years, those who were vaccinated showed a 20 percent lower risk of developing dementia. Published in Nature, this study is one of the strongest indications yet that the shingles vaccine may protect the brain.
Also read | Dementia: Manage blood pressure, ensure quality sleep, exercise daily to reduce risk
4 things to know about the shingles vaccine and dementia risk
- The link is strong: Researchers believe preventing the reactivation of the shingles virus may reduce inflammation or immune responses that could otherwise damage the brain.
- Both vaccines may help: Though the Welsh study focused on Zostavax, another study from Oxford University found Shingrix also showed a 17 percent reduction in dementia diagnoses in the US.
- Other vaccines may protect too: It’s not just shingles. Studies have linked reduced dementia risk to diphtheria, typhoid, pneumococcal, and hepatitis A vaccines.
- Age matters: Most experts recommend the shingles vaccine for adults over 50, a group at higher risk for both shingles and dementia.
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