‘The implications are profound’ of finding that shingles vaccine protects against dementia

Research showing older adults’ risk of getting dementia fell if they had shingles vaccination another reason to consider getting the shot

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A study of older adults who were vaccinated against shingles showed their risk of getting dementia in the subsequent seven years fell by 20 per cent compared with those not vaccinated. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 1:45pm, 4 Apr 2025

A vaccine to fight dementia? It turns out there may already be one – shots that prevent painful shingles also appear to protect ageing brains.

A new study found shingles vaccination cut older adults’ risk of developing dementia over the next seven years by 20 per cent.

The research, published in the journal Nature, is part of growing understanding about how many factors influence brain health as we age – and what we can do about it.

“It’s a very robust finding,” said lead researcher Dr Pascal Geldsetzer of Stanford University in the US state of California. And “women seem to benefit more”, important as they are at higher risk of dementia.

The study tracked people in Wales who were around 80 when receiving the world’s first-generation shingles vaccine over a decade ago. Now, Americans 50 and older are urged to get a newer vaccine that has proven more effective against shingles than its predecessor.

The new findings add another reason for people to consider rolling up their sleeves, said Dr Maria Nagel of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, who studies viruses that infiltrate the nervous system.