People Administered with Flu Shot are 40% Less Likely to Develop Alzheimer's Disease

Flu shot or flu vaccination has been linked to a 40% reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, but it is only in the course of the next four years, according to a new study by UTHealth Houston.

The breakthrough research suggested that at least one influenza shot is enough to counter the notorious mental disorder, marked by memory loss and cognitive function degeneration affecting mostly elderly people.

The study found that individuals administered with the influenza vaccine are more resistant against the mental illness, compared to people who did not receive any injections.

The sampling method was conducted among the US adult populace aged 65 and older.

Preceding flu shots taken by age group also help in adding to the protective barrier against the disease.

The research analysis from the report is relatively larger compared to previous studies.

The discovery comes two years after UTHealth Houston researchers noticed a potential link between flu vaccines and its preventive effect against mental health condition.

Millions of Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease, as only one of the many forms of dementia affecting the daily lives of people afflicted with it.

While there is still no cure for the disease, the said findings could be a foundation for future research concerning the development of a potential treatment.

Flu Vaccination

In a media release by UTHealth Houston on June 24, its research team led by Avram S. Bukhbinder, MD, made a comparative research of the risk of "Alzheimer's disease incidence" between patients with and without previous influenza vaccination.

The total number of participants include 935,887 flu-vaccinated patients and non-vaccinated patients of the same number.

After follow-up appointments within four years, the results yield that 5.1% of the flu-vaccinated patients developed the dementia-related disease.

Meanwhile, 8.5% of non-vaccinated patients had developed the disease.

The study will be available for its official publication on August 2 under the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. Still, an early version of it was published at the IOS Press Content Library on June 13.

Alzheimer's Disease

According to the Alzheimer's Association (ALZ), the mental disease does not only cause memory loss, but even death.

One out of three seniors die from Alzheimer's disease, killing more people than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.

The association estimated related deaths have doubled between 2000 and 2019, while deaths from heart disease, which is the leading cause of fatalities, have decreased.

It also pointed out that people with Alzheimer's by the age of 70 are twice as likely to die before reaching 80.

Being the most common form of dementia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Alzheimer's disease affects part of the brain responsible not only for memory but also thought and language as well.

In the United States, the CDC reports that up to 5.8 million Americans were living with Alzheimer's in 2020; wherein the number of cases doubles every five years for people beyond age 65.

The figure is expected to reach to around 14 million by the year 2060.