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A shingles vaccine may also help reduce dementia risk

Vaccination led to a 20 percent reduction in dementia risk in Wales

A vial containing a vaccine is located on a table next to a syringe.

A shingles vaccine might have an unexpected benefit, potentially reducing the risk of being diagnosed with dementia.

By Alex Viveros

People who receive the live-attenuated shingles vaccine may have a lower likelihood of being diagnosed with dementia compared with those who do not get the shot, researchers report April 2 in Nature.

The findings stem from a Welsh vaccination program. The researchers explored how vaccination against shingles — an illness that develops when the virus causing chicken pox reactivates later in life — might influence dementia risk, finding a more prominent effect in women than in men.