{"id":502409,"date":"2026-06-20T11:30:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T11:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/502409\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T11:30:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T11:30:08","slug":"vaccines-may-reduce-the-risk-of-alzheimers-disease-scientists-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/502409\/","title":{"rendered":"Vaccines May Reduce the Risk of Alzheimer\u2019s Disease, Scientists Say"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated4 min read<\/p>\n

Key Points<\/p>\n

\"CaretVaccines are increasingly linked to a lower risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease.New research suggests a particular flu vaccine reduces risk by 55%.The link is still being explored.<\/p>\n

Alzheimer\u2019s disease affects the lives of millions of people around the world. But as common as it is, scientists still don\u2019t entirely know what causes Alzheimer\u2019s, or even the best way to prevent it.<\/p>\n

Still, slowly but surely, experts are learning more about this devastating disease. And among the more intriguing avenues of inquiry is a growing body of research tying vaccinations to a lower risk of developing Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n

The latest study in this vein, published in the journal Neurology<\/a>, makes a strong case for staying up to date on your vaccines. Researchers analyzed data from about 165,000 older adults who received a high-dose flu vaccine or a standard-dose flu vaccine. They discovered that people aged 65 and up who got the high-dose vaccine had a nearly 55% lower risk of developing Alzheimer\u2019s disease over the two-year study period.<\/p>\n

Previously, the same research team published two related studies. The first, published in 2022, found that older adults who got the standard-dose flu vaccine had a 40% lower risk<\/a> of developing Alzheimer\u2019s disease over the four-year study period. The second, published in 2023, found that getting vaccinated against<\/a> tetanus and diphtheria, with or without pertussis, shingles, or pneumococcus vaccines, was associated with a lower risk for Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s behind this link? Below, doctors break it down.<\/p>\n

Meet the experts: Amesh A. Adalja, M.D.,<\/a> an infectious disease specialist and adjunct assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; C. Buddy Creech, M.D., M.P.H.,<\/a> director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program; Davide Cappon, Ph.D<\/a>., director of neuropsychology at Tufts Medical Center.<\/p>\n

What is the high-dose flu vaccine?<\/p>\n

The high-dose flu vaccine contains four times the antigen\u2014the element that creates an immune response\u2014of the standard-dose flu vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> (CDC).<\/p>\n

The CDC recommends that all adults aged 65 and up get the high-dose vaccine, as data suggest high-dose flu vaccines are more effective than standard ones for older adults. However, if the high-dose flu vaccine isn\u2019t available, the CDC still suggests getting the standard-dose vaccine.<\/p>\n

Why might vaccines help to lower the risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to stress that the research only found a correlation between getting vaccinated and having a lower risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease\u2014it didn\u2019t prove that vaccination itself prevented Alzheimer\u2019s in any way.<\/p>\n

Still, experts have a few theories about this link. \u201cThis is likely related to inflammation that occurs after an influenza case,\u201d says Amesh A. Adalja, M.D.,<\/a> an infectious disease specialist and adjunct assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. \u201cInflammation has a role in the development of Alzheimer\u2019s disease, and by blunting the inflammatory effect after viral infections, the influenza vaccine\u2014and others\u2014decreases the risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

C. Buddy Creech, M.D., M.P.H.,<\/a> director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program, expresses a similar sentiment. \u201cIt is possible that reducing the risk of infections\u2014multiple kinds\u2014can reduce inflammation and cellular damage that could contribute to Alzheimer\u2019s. As we get older, our ability to recover from injury, infection, and inflammation is reduced,\u201d he says. As a result, what may have been simple to treat in early adulthood, like a urinary tract infection, can lead to hospitalization, an altered mental state, and overall health decline in older adults\u2014even after recovery. \u201cAnother reason could be non-specific activation of the immune system\u2014not germ-specific\u2014that may change the development of Alzheimer\u2019s,\u201d he says. Additionally, there might be something about reducing the risk of flu itself, rather than the immune effects of getting the flu, that\u2019s driving the drop in Alzheimer\u2019s disease risk.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Dr. Creech says, people who stay on top of their vaccines may simply be healthier overall, which could drive down their risk of developing Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n

Basically, there\u2019s a lot more to explore here.<\/p>\n

Which flu vaccine should you get?<\/p>\n

Doctors recommend getting vaccinated according to the vaccine schedule\u2014again, the CDC recommends the high-dose vaccine for those aged 65 and up\u2014and your healthcare provider\u2019s recommendations.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny diminishment of the inflammation will be beneficial,\u201d Dr. Adalja says. \u201cThe high dose is a more powerful vaccine, but the low-dose also has a benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the takeaway?<\/p>\n

Experts stress that the link between vaccines and Alzheimer\u2019s disease risk is still being investigated\u2014but it doesn\u2019t hurt to stay on top of your vaccinations. \u201cWe simply do not understand yet all of the ways that infections can harm health,\u201d Dr. Creech says. \u201cStudies like this show us that, on the surface, vaccination against common infections, like influenza, can have important effects on our wellbeing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davide Cappon, Ph.D<\/a>., director of neuropsychology at Tufts Medical Center, stresses that while it\u2019s \u201creasonable\u201d to think that staying up-to-date on vaccinations contributes to a brain-healthy lifestyle, it\u2019s just one piece of the puzzle. \u201cThe strongest evidence still supports managing vascular risk factors, exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet (such as a Mediterranean-style diet), staying socially and cognitively engaged, treating hearing loss and sleep apnea, and addressing depression and anxiety,\u201d he says. \u201cThose interventions likely have a larger impact on long-term brain health than any single intervention.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"4 min read Key Points Vaccines are increasingly linked to a lower risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease.New research suggests…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":502410,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[140408,140406,140407,230999,635,230998,637,163,85,46,195853,1975,154379,230997],"class_list":["post-502409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-collection-brain-health","tag-collection-health-news","tag-collection-health-studies","tag-collection-older-adult-vaccines","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-673b602f-493b-4200-9be4-dd3af0c9197c","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-health","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-us","tag-read_time-4","tag-shorttitle-study-vaccines-may-lower-risk-of-alzheimers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=502409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502409\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/502410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=502409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=502409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=502409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}