New York: People who received at least one influenza vaccine were 40 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease over the course of four years than their non-vaccinated peers, according to a new study.
Research from the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, compared the risk of Alzheimer’s disease incidence among patients with and without prior flu vaccination in a large nationwide sample of US adults 65 years of age and older.
“We found that flu vaccination in older adults reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by several years. The strength of this protective effect increases with the number of years a person receives an annual flu vaccine — in other words. “The rate of development of Alzheimer’s was lowest among those who received the flu vaccine continuously every year,” said Avram S. of the university. Bukhbinder said.
“Future research should assess whether flu vaccination is also associated with the rate of progression of symptoms in patients who already have Alzheimer’s dementia,” Bukhbinder said.
The study included 935,887 flu-vaccinated patients and 935,887 non-vaccinated patients.
During the four-year follow-up appointments, about 5.1 percent of flu-vaccinated patients were found to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Meanwhile, 8.5 percent of non-vaccinated patients had developed Alzheimer’s disease during follow-up.
According to Bukhbinder and colleagues, these results underscore the strong protective effect of the flu vaccine against Alzheimer’s disease. However, the underlying mechanism behind this process requires further study.
“Since there is evidence that several vaccines can protect against Alzheimer’s disease, we are thinking that this is not a specific effect of the flu vaccine,” Paul said. E. B. Schulz, Professor at the University.
“Instead, we believe that the immune system is complex, and that certain changes, such as pneumonia, can activate it in a way that makes Alzheimer’s disease worse. But other things that activate the immune system are so different. In a way that may protect against Alzheimer’s disease. Clearly, we have much more to learn about how immune system damages or improves outcomes for this disease,” he said.
Previous studies have found a reduced risk of dementia associated with prior exposure to various adult vaccinations for tetanus, polio, and shingles, among others, with the flu vaccine and others.
Additionally, as more time passes for the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine and longer follow-up data become available, Bukhbinder said it would be worth investigating whether there is a similar link between COVID-19 vaccination and Alzheimer’s disease risk. relation exists.