Nowadays, vaccine hesitancy is a large conversation. We always believe people should make their own choices after doing research and talking over the risks and benefits of any medical decision with their doctor.
There is a new reason why older people may want to get the shingles vaccine. The vaccine not only prevents the painful viral infection, but it may also slow down the aging process.
“While further research is needed to replicate and extend these findings … our study adds to a growing body of work suggesting that vaccines may play a role in healthy aging strategies beyond solely preventing acute illness,” co-author Eileen Crimmins of the Univ. of Southern California said.
When the virus that causes chickenpox reactivates later in life, it causes shingles, a painful, blistering rash. A case of shingles can leave a person with nerve pain for months or years after the rash clears up. If you have ever had chickenpox, you are at risk for shingles. Your risk goes up after 50. The risk is higher for people with weaker immune systems.
Looking at blood samples and medical data from more than 3,800 adults 70 and older, the team looked at seven biomarkers of aging. They found that, on average, the vaccinated people had significantly lower inflammation that leads to age-related conditions like heart problems, cognitive decline and frailty. When they looked at all seven biomarkers and put them into a single age score, the vaccinated people were aging more slowly than the unvaccinated.
“By helping to reduce this background inflammation — possibly by preventing reactivation of the virus that causes shingles, the vaccine may play a role in supporting healthier aging,” said first author Jung Ki Kim. “While the exact biological mechanisms remain to be understood, the potential for vaccination to reduce inflammation makes it a promising addition to broader strategies aimed at promoting resilience and slowing age-related decline.”
A study of Canadians 70 and older found that the vaccine appears to prevent or at least delay dementia. It was a natural study in that it followed people for about a decade, and the control group was people who were born before 1945 who weren’t eligible for a free shot from a new vaccine rule, or those who would have been eligible but lived outside of the area.
After the rollout of the new vaccine program, new dementia diagnoses were significantly lower than in their peers who had missed the cutoff date. The stark difference in dementia cases could also be seen in areas without a free vaccine program. The researchers say their natural experiment, performed outside of a lab and just from observing people’s medical data, is more likely to show cause and effect than a lab experiment.
We aren’t trying to sway people one way or the other about vaccines. But we think these topics are worth discussing with your doctor if you are eligible for a shingles shot.
