Shingles, RSV vaccines may lower dementia risk

 Didn't your competent? doctor get you the newer shingles vaccine a while ago? I've had both. 

Shingrix vaccine (4 posts to October 2017)

Shingles, RSV vaccines may lower dementia risk

Older adults who had received AS01-adjuvanted shingles and RSV vaccines may have a reduced risk of dementia over the next 18 months, according to a study published in npj Vaccines.

Using electronic health records from 436,788 individuals, researchers led by Maxime Taquet,  University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, investigated whether AS01-adjuvanted vaccines affect dementia risk. The study included recipients of shingles vaccine (Shingrix; n = 103,798), RSV vaccine (Arexvy; n = 35,938), or both vaccines (n = 78,658), with matched influenza vaccine recipients serving as the comparison group.

All groups were balanced across key demographic and clinical characteristics (standardised mean differences < 0.1). The mean age of the cohorts ranged from 69.20 to 72.91 years. 

Over an 18-month follow-up period, individuals who had received RSV vaccine and shingles vaccine had a 29% (ratio of restricted mean time lost [RMTL] = 0.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.61-0.83; P = 2.8 x 10⁻⁵) and 18% (RMTL: 0.82, 95% CI 0.74-0.91; P = .00027) lower risk of dementia, respectively, while those who had received both vaccines had a 37% lower risk (RMTL = 0.63; 95% CI, 0.55-0.72; P = 4.7 x 10⁻¹²), compared with those who had received influenza vaccines. These findings corresponded to an additional 87, 53, and 113 days free of dementia diagnosis within the 18-month period, respectively.

No significant difference in dementia risk was observed between individuals who received either AS01-adjuvanted vaccines and those who received both vaccines. The reduction in risk was consistent across sexes and remained robust when including individuals diagnosed with dementia within the first 3 months of follow-up. A similar protective association was also seen for the composite outcome of dementia or death.

“It is likely that both the AS01 shingles and RSV vaccines provide some protection against dementia,” the authors remarked. “The mechanisms underpinning this protection remain to be determined. Our data provide support for the hypothesis that, besides protection against their target infection, these vaccines could well protect against dementia via the action of the AS01 components through specific immunological pathways.”

Given the implications for ageing populations, the authors called for further clinical and mechanistic studies to validate and elucidate the durability and pathways of this observed protective effect.

Source: npj Vaccines