A large U.S. database study found that shingles vaccination was linked to lower dementia rates, while recurrent shingles increased dementia risk. The live-attenuated vaccine reduced dementia incidence by 33 percent and the recombinant vaccine by 27 percent at three years, with both effects persisting at five years. Protection declined over time for the live-attenuated vaccine. The study used matched analyses of more than 100 million patient records from 2007 to 2023 and noted that the observational design limited causal conclusions.

Source: Nature Medicine