A vaccine that is usually given to prevent shingles may have another surprising benefit. New research suggests that it might also help slow the aging process in older adults.
Scientists from the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology found that people who received the shingles vaccine appeared to age more slowly at a biological level than those who did not receive the vaccine.
The study analyzed data from the well‑known U.S. Health and Retirement Study, a large national research project that follows the health of older Americans over time. Researchers looked at information from more than 3,800 adults who were at least 70 years old in 2016.
After carefully adjusting for differences in health conditions, lifestyle, and demographic factors, the researchers discovered that people who had received the shingles vaccine showed signs of slower biological aging compared with those who had not been vaccinated.
The findings were reported by researchers from the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and help scientists better understand how vaccines might affect health beyond simply preventing infections.
To understand why this result is interesting, it helps to know more about shingles itself. Shingles is a painful illness caused by the varicella zoster virus, which is the same virus that causes chickenpox.
When someone gets chickenpox as a child, the virus does not completely disappear from the body. Instead, it stays hidden inside nerve cells for many years. Later in life, the virus can become active again and cause shingles.
Shingles usually appears as a painful rash with blisters that form on one side of the body or face. The condition can be extremely uncomfortable and may last for several weeks. In some people, the pain continues even after the rash disappears. This long‑lasting nerve pain is called postherpetic neuralgia and can affect daily life for months or even years.
Although anyone who has had chickenpox can develop shingles, the risk becomes much higher as people grow older. After age 50, the immune system gradually weakens, making it easier for the virus to reactivate. For this reason, health experts often recommend the shingles vaccine for adults over 50 years old, especially those with weaker immune systems.
Vaccines are usually designed to protect the body from specific infections. However, scientists have recently started to explore whether vaccines might also have broader health benefits.
Some earlier studies suggested that certain vaccines, including the shingles vaccine and the flu vaccine, might be linked to a lower risk of diseases such as dementia or other conditions related to aging.
In the new study, the research team wanted to see whether shingles vaccination might influence biological aging itself. Biological aging is different from chronological aging. Chronological age simply refers to how many years a person has lived. Biological aging, on the other hand, measures how well the body’s systems are functioning.
Two people may both be 70 years old, but their bodies may age differently. One person may have organs and immune systems that function like those of someone much younger, while another may show signs of faster aging. Scientists use various biological markers in blood samples to estimate how quickly the body is aging.
In this research, the scientists examined seven different indicators related to aging and overall health. These included inflammation levels, immune system activity, blood circulation, signs of nerve system damage, and changes in how genes behave in the body.
These measures allowed the researchers to calculate an overall biological aging score for each participant.
The results showed that participants who had received the shingles vaccine generally had lower levels of inflammation and signs of slower cellular aging. In particular, two important markers called epigenetic aging and transcriptomic aging appeared to progress more slowly in vaccinated individuals.
Inflammation is known to play a major role in many age‑related diseases. Long‑term low‑grade inflammation can increase the risk of heart disease, frailty, memory problems, and other conditions that become more common with age. Scientists often refer to this persistent inflammation as “inflammaging,” because it combines the words inflammation and aging.
According to the study’s first author, Research Associate Professor Jung Ki Kim, reducing this background inflammation may be one of the ways vaccination supports healthier aging. Preventing the reactivation of the virus that causes shingles might help keep the immune system calmer and reduce stress on the body.
The researchers also found that the possible benefits of the vaccine could last for several years. People who had received the shingles vaccine four or more years before giving their blood samples still showed signs of slower biological aging compared with those who had not been vaccinated.
The study was led by Jung Ki Kim and coauthor Eileen Crimmins from the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. Their findings add to growing evidence that vaccines might influence health in ways that go beyond infection prevention.
When reviewing the findings of this study, several important points should be considered.
First, the research shows a strong association between shingles vaccination and slower biological aging, but it does not prove that the vaccine directly causes the aging slowdown. Other lifestyle or health factors might also contribute to the difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.
Second, the study used observational data rather than a controlled clinical trial. This means scientists cannot yet confirm the exact biological mechanisms responsible for the effect. Future research using long‑term studies and experimental designs will be needed to verify these findings.
Nevertheless, the results are promising. If further research confirms the link, vaccination could become an important part of strategies aimed at promoting healthy aging. By reducing inflammation and supporting the immune system, vaccines might help protect older adults not only from infections but also from some of the biological processes that drive aging.
Overall, this research highlights how maintaining strong immune health may play a key role in aging well. As scientists continue to study the long‑term effects of vaccines, they may discover new ways to improve health and resilience later in life.
If you care about health, please read studies that vitamin D can help reduce inflammation, and vitamin K could lower your heart disease risk by a third.
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