BRAIN BOOST
New shingles jab ‘slashes risk of dementia by 17%’ – can you get it on the NHS?
It's available to millions of Brits every year - check if you're one of them
HAVING the shingles jab could slash your risk of dementia by 17 per cent, "convincing" new findings show.
The Shingrix vaccine "significantly" lowered the chance of being diagnosed with the debilitating brain disease in the six years after vaccination compared to the previously-used Zostavax shot.
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The boost equates to five to nine months of life without dementia, University of Oxford researchers said.
Both men and women benefited from the new jab, but the effects were greater in women, scientists found.
John Todd, professor of precision medicine at the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Medicine, said: “One possibility is that infection with the Herpes zoster virus (shingles) might increase the risk of dementia and, therefore, by inhibiting the virus the vaccine could reduce this risk.
“Alternatively, the vaccine also contains chemicals which might have separate beneficial effects on brain health.”
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Shingles is a common condition that causes a painful rash and occurs most often as people get older.
It can sometimes lead to serious problems such as deafness, long-lasting pain, and blindness.
A jab to protect against it is available for free on the NHS to everyone aged 65 to 80.
Dr Maxime Taquet, academic clinical lecturer in the department of psychiatry at Oxford, who led the study on more than 20,000 people, said: "The size and nature of this study makes these findings convincing and should motivate further research.
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"They support the hypothesis that vaccination against shingles might prevent dementia.
"If validated in clinical trials, these findings could have significant implications for older adults, health services and public health."
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She added that the team's interpretation of the data is that the jab works to delay dementia rather than prevent it altogether, although more work is needed.
On the NHS, people are offered two doses of Shingrix when they turn 65, as long as their birthday was on or after September 1, 2023.
Those who turned 65 before this date are eligible for the shingles vaccine when they become 70, while all people aged 70 to 80 are also eligible.
People aged 50 and over with a severely weakened immune system are offered a vaccine too.
Evidence shows Shingrix, made by GlaxoSmithKline, can provide at least a decade of protection against shingles after the first jab.
Dementia isn’t an inevitable part of ageing. Finding new ways to reduce people’s risk of developing it is vital
Dr Sheona Scales
Shingrix, which replaced Zostavax in Britain in September 2023, was also compared with people who had received vaccines against other infections, including flu, tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis.
The results, published in the journal Nature Medicine, showed Shingrix was associated with a 17 per cent lower risk of dementia than Zostavax, and 23 to 27 per cent less than with the other jabs.
Women enjoyed 22 per cent more time lived without a diagnosis of dementia, versus 13 per cent for men.
Paul Harrison, a professor of psychiatry who supervised the study, said: "The findings are intriguing and encouraging.
"Anything that might reduce the risk of dementia is to be welcomed, given the large and increasing number of people affected by it."
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Dr Sheona Scales, director of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, added: "Dementia isn’t an inevitable part of ageing.
"It's caused by diseases like Alzheimer’s, so finding new ways to reduce people’s risk of developing these diseases is vital."
14 ways to slash your risk of dementia
MAKING small changes to your lifestyle could slash your risk of developing dementia, research suggests.
- Avoid spending hours bingeing boxsets as a 2018 study from biomedical database UK Biobank found people who watched more than four hours at a time were 24 per cent more likely to develop dementia, due to it being a “passive activity”.
- Activities like doing a crossword can help reduce your chance of dementia by up to nine per cent as they “stimulate the growth of neurons and synapses”, according to researchers from Monash University, Australia.
- Research from University College London found meeting new people, and increasing time spent socialising can help delay the onset of the condition, reducing the risk by between 30 and 50 per cent.
- High salt consumption has been linked to both heart disease and dementia. The Alzheimer’s Society recommends sticking to a Mediterranean diet, which could reduce dementia risk by 23 per cent.
- A UK study, published in 2020 found that being overweight between the ages of 35 and 65 increased the risk of dementia by up to 30 per cent - so shedding some pounds can help bring this down.
- Multivitamins that cost as little as 2p could stave off Alzheimer's, experts at Mass General Brigham in the US found.
- Getting it on in the bedroom can help protect against dementia by increasing blood flow to the brain, research in the US shows.
- Scientists, whose findings were published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, found that coffee could help prevent proteins known to cause Alzheimer’s from building up.
- One study, published in the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, found older adults who did six months of ballroom dancing saw better outcomes than those walking on treadmills when it came to dementia.
- Men who take Viagra may have up to a 54 per cent lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease, a study by University College London suggests.
- According to Claire Steves, a professor of ageing and health at King's College London, going for a stroll just a handful of times a week can make a big difference when it comes to your chances of dementia.
- A Taiwanese study found that those with chronic gum disease for more than a decade were 1.7 times more likely to be at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease - so look after your gnashers.
- It's important to look after your senses. Research published in 2023 found that dual impairment in hearing and vision was associated with a higher risk of dementia.
- A lack of sleep can cut your ability to learn new things and take on new information by 40 per cent according to US research. Other studies have found that even one night of sleep deprivation can increase the amount of beta-amyloid in the brain, which is associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
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