Shingles vaccine appears to reduce risk of dementia

Shingles vaccination reduces dementia risk, researchers reported on June 15, 2026 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

“Receipt of RZV [recombinant shingles vaccine] during admission to a skilled-nursing facility or within 12 months was associated with lower dementia risk,” the authors said.

Researchers from Brown University School of Public Health in Providence, Rhode Island and colleagues examined whether receiving RZV vaccination showed any association with dementia risk among adults age 66 and older who had been newly admitted to skilled-nursing facilities.

They analyzed Medicare (USA) and electronic health record data from 509,926 subjects. They compared those who had received at least one vaccine dose within 12 months of admission to a nursing home (including after discharge) to those who had not.

The investigators used analytical methods that allowed them to emulate a randomized trial.

They found that those who had received RZV had achieved a 24% relative reduction in risk and 5.8% percentage point absolute reduction in risk for dementia after four years when compared with those who had not been vaccinated.

In a patient summary, the authors noted,”This study supports findings of other large research studies that RZV may reduce the risk for dementia, even among seniors who were admitted to a nursing home. The researchers argue that admission to a nursing home is a natural time for clinicians to evaluate whether a patient needs this vaccine and to offer RZV. Patients might be informed of this benefit, so they might alternatively receive the vaccine after discharge.”