A shingles vaccination may significantly reduce the chances of developing heart disease, heart failure or having a stroke, new research suggests.
Experts say vaccinating everyone over the age of 60 could potentially avert tens of thousands of deaths.
The findings come after separate research indicated the jab may also be associated with a reduced risk of dementia.
Shingles is a painful, potentially serious illness caused when the chickenpox virus becomes active again in the body. The condition poses greater risks as people get older and can result in long-term nerve pain, as well as hearing loss and blindness.
The shingles vaccine Shingrix is available on the NHS for people who have turned 65, those aged 70 to 79, and anyone aged 18 or over with a severely weakened immune system.
The NHS had previously offered a vaccine called Zostavax, but it was replaced by Shingrix nearly three years ago.
Researchers at the University of Oxford now believe the vaccine could cut the risk of a major cardiovascular event by as much as 12 per cent.
‘If confirmed in clinical trials, this could be the first vaccine to protect both the heart and the brain,’ said Dr Maxime Taquet, associate professor in Oxford’s Department of Psychiatry and the study’s lead author.
‘The hope is that our study at the very least helps nurture vaccination uptake, for which the benefit could be enormous.’
A major study has added to growing evidence that the shingles vaccine could protect against heart disease
The study – published in the journal Nature Medicine – analysed data from more than 70,000 adults aged 60 and over in the US, which switched from administering Zostavax to Shingrix in October 2017.
This allowed researchers to compare the risk of cardiovascular events over a seven-year period in those who were vaccinated with Shingrix with those who had received Zostavax.
The two groups were matched for dozens of factors that could influence heart health – including age, sex, ethnicity, existing illnesses and medication use.
Those vaccinated with the newer Shingrix vaccine were 10 per cent less likely to develop coronary heart disease – whereby the blood vessels supplying the heart become clogged with fatty deposits, increasing the risk of heart attack and heart failure.
Shingrix was also associated with a 12 per cent lower risk of heart failure over the following seven years.
The benefit was seen in both men and women, with men also showing a 12 per cent increase in time lived stroke-free.
The vaccine was also found to be ‘good value’ for the NHS for those over 70.
Several trials that are looking to provide more definitive evidence are now under way.
Join the discussion
Should vaccines that may prevent dementia and heart disease be made mandatory for older adults?
Experts in the field who were not involved in the study have welcomed the findings, which are said to ‘amplify the obvious benefit of the shingles vaccination’.
The vaccine works by teaching the immune system to recognise and fight the virus that causes shingles.
But it also contains chemicals that experts believe ‘kick start the immune system’.
Professor Ian Jones, from the University of Reading, said: ‘It is possible that this immune jolt also clears up low level persistent inflammation which would otherwise build to later clinical disease, including neuronal and cardiovascular disease.
‘The data amplifies the obvious benefit of the shingles vaccination, but it also suggests there may be an immune dimension to a number of age-related conditions and that focusing on boosting immunity could be generally beneficial.’
Dr Mark Russell, a consultant rheumatologist at King’s College London, added: ‘Although the benefits are relatively small on an individual basis, millions of people receive a shingles vaccination, meaning that even a small cardiovascular benefit could translate into a substantial number of cardiovascular events prevented at a population level.’
Shingles is caused by the herpes zoster virus flaring up again in people who previously had chicken pox.
Around 200,000 people in the UK develop shingles every year. Over a lifetime, around one in four people will develop the condition.
Everyone experiences dementia differently. Use this checklist to help you make a note of your symptoms before you talk to your GP.
The findings follow a large body of evidence that suggests the vaccine may also lower the risk of dementia, although a cause-and-effect relationship has not yet been proven.
A major study at Stanford University in California last year found older adults who received the vaccine were around 20 per cent less likely to develop the condition over the next seven years.
More recently, researchers in the US reported that people given the newer Shingrix vaccine were 24 per cent less likely to be diagnosed with dementia over a four-year period than their unvaccinated peers.
The latest findings build on this research by suggesting the jab’s benefits may extend beyond brain health.
Heart disease remains one of Britain’s biggest killers, claiming around 175,000 lives every year. More than 7.6million people are thought to be living with a cardiovascular condition.
Dementia affects almost one million people across the UK, with that figure expected to soar to 1.4million by 2040 as the population ages.
