Vaccination

Lower Alzheimer Disease Risk Linked to Influenza, Pneumonia Vaccination

Data from 3 studies presented at the 2020 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference suggest that vaccination against influenza and pneumonia is associated with a reduction in the risk of Alzheimer disease (AD) risk.

In the first study1, researchers assessed data from 9066 patients from a large American health record dataset. They found that a single flu vaccination was associated with a lower risk of developing AD (odds ratio [OR] 0.83). Among those patients with a single vaccination, receiving frequent vaccinations was shown to be associated with even lower prevalence of AD (OR 0.87). This effect was strongest among patients who first received a flu vaccine at a younger age.

In the second study2, researchers examined the effects of the pneumococcal vaccination with and without accompanying flu vaccine on the risk of AD among 5146 participants aged 65 years or older. They found that pneumococcal vaccination between the ages of 65 and 75 years was associated with a reduction in the risk of AD by 25% to 30%, with even higher reductions seen in vaccinated patients who were not carriers of the rs2075650 G allele in the TOMM40 gene.  While the number of total flu and pneumococcal vaccinations was associated with the significance of risk reduction, this was not evident when considering the flu vaccine alone.

In the third study3, researchers examined data from 1,496,436 Danish residents aged 65 years and older who had been hospitalized for an infection. They found that the mortality rate among patients in this population who had dementia was 6.5 times higher than individuals without dementia or a similar hospitalization. When considered separately, dementia and hospitalization for infection were individually associated with a threefold increased mortality rate.

“Our study suggests that the health care system — as well as relatives of people with dementia — should have increased awareness of people with dementia who get infections, so they get the medical care they need. People with dementia require more specialized treatment even when their hospital visits are not directly due to their dementia but to what might appear to be an unrelated infection,” the researchers said in an accompanying press release.4

—Michael Potts

References:

  1. Albert Amran, et al. Influenza Vaccination is associated with a reduced incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease. Paper presented at: Alzheimer’s Association International Conference; July 27, 2020; virtual meeting.
  2. Svetlana Ukraintseva, PhD, et al. Repurposing of existing vaccines for personalized prevention of Alzheimer’s disease: Vaccination against pneumonia may reduce AD risk depending on genotype. Paper presented at: Alzheimer’s Association International Conference; July 27, 2020; virtual meeting.
  3. Janet Janbek, MSc, et al. Increased short- and long-term mortality following infections in dementia: A prospective nationwide and registry-based cohort study. Paper presented at: Alzheimer’s Association International Conference; July 27, 2020; virtual meeting.
  4. Flu, Pneumonia Vaccinations Tied to Lower Risk of Alzheimer's Dementia. News release. Chicago, IL: Alzheimer’s Association; July 27, 2020. https://www.alz.org/aaic/releases_2020/vaccines-dementia-risk.asp