A recent study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease on June 13 suggests a correlation between the influenza vaccination and a lowered risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in older adults from the U.S.
Details of the Study
Dr. Avram S. Bukhbinder from the John P. and Katherine G. McGovern Medical School at UTHealth in Houston led the study.
Methodology: Using deidentified claims data from September 1, 2009, to August 31, 2019, researchers examined the difference in risk for incident AD between older adults (aged 65 and over) who had and hadn’t received the influenza vaccine.
This encompassed 935,887 matched pairs of flu-vaccinated and flu-unvaccinated patients.
The team found out of the flu-vaccinated group, 5.1% developed AD. 8.5% of the flu-unvaccinated group developed AD over a follow-up period of 46 months.
Insights from the Researchers
A coauthor of the study shared that the protective effect against Alzheimer’s might not be exclusive to the flu vaccine.
The complex nature of the immune system suggests that while certain conditions, like pneumonia, might activate it in a way that exacerbates Alzheimer’s, other triggers might activate the immune system in a protective manner against the disease.
The underlying message is that there’s much more to uncover about the interplay between the immune system and Alzheimer’s outcomes.
It’s important to mention that one of the authors has disclosed financial affiliations with Lilly, Acadia, and Biogen.
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The study was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
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