Getting vaccinated against influenza and pneumonia is associated with lower risk of developing Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, according to newly-released research.
were presented at the .
鈥淧eople who got at least one flu shot had a 17% lower risk of developing Alzheimer鈥檚,鈥� Ana Nelson of the Alzheimer鈥檚 Association National Capital Area Chapter said of one of the studies.
More frequent flu vaccination was associated with another 13% reduction in Alzheimer鈥檚.
Nelson said the study examined medical records of 9,000 people at least 60-years-old and split them into two groups based on whether they鈥檇 ever received a flu shot.
While it may be that people who are diligent about getting vaccinated might鈥� also take care of themselves in other ways, resulting in a cumulative effect to reduce Alzheimer鈥檚 risk, Nelson said each study group shared similar health-related factors such as smoking, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Those are known risk factors for Alzheimer鈥檚.
鈥淭hey even looked to see how many prescriptions people received, just to make sure that people who got the vaccine were not healthier overall,鈥� Nelson said.
While Nelson emphasized what she called 鈥渧ery, very interesting鈥� study findings, she added, 鈥淲e do need to do more research to understand what the connection is.鈥�
Pneumonia vaccine and Alzheimer鈥檚 risk was also evaluated.
A second study released at the conference suggested that people 65 to 75 years old getting vaccinated against pneumonia reduced Alzheimer鈥檚 risk by up to 40%, depending on individual genes.
Nelson said the two studies鈥� findings are encouraging and speak to the need to explore the benefit of vaccines in not only protecting against viral and bacterial infections, but also in how they may improve long-term health outcomes.
鈥淭he vaccines for the flu and pneumonia may be protective because the two diseases that they were designed to prevent are known to affect the brain and every time people have one of those infections 鈥� they may experience challenges with their memory and thinking,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd, a number of [previous] studies have suggested that these types of events, especially repeated events over time, might increase someone鈥檚 risk for Alzheimer鈥檚.鈥�
Steps you can take right now to help include exercise, not smoking, sleeping well, challenging your mind by playing strategic games and staying socially active.
To help stay informed about rapidly evolving science related to Alzheimer鈥檚 and dementia, you can download the .
