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Recombinant zoster vaccination in patients with dementia is associated with improved survival and better cognitive preservation

Soltys, K.; Sara-Buchbut, R.; Ish Shalom, N.; Stokar, J.; Klein, B. Y.; Calderon-Margalit, R.; Greenblatt, C. L.; Ben-Haim, M. S.

2026-04-13 epidemiology
10.64898/2026.04.09.26350509 medRxiv
Show abstract

Dementia affects tens of millions of people worldwide, yet disease-modifying treatments remain strikingly limited. Although the recombinant zoster vaccine Shingrix has been associated with reduced dementia incidence, its potential influence on individuals already living with dementia is unknown. Here, we followed a propensity-score matched cohort of 68,960 US dementia patients using a nationwide electronic health record network, comparing Shingrix recipients within two years of diagnosis to recipients of any other vaccine. Shingrix was associated with substantially reduced all-cause mortality across the first three years of follow-up (hazard ratios 0.74, 0.88, and 0.89; P[≤]0.006), robust across multiple sensitivity analyses. Furthermore, within-individual subgroup analyses of repeated Mini-Mental State Examinations conducted 3-6 years apart revealed significantly divergent cognitive decline rates across groups (time-by-group interaction P=0.002). Interval vaccination was associated with more stable cognition, contrasting with steeper declines in unvaccinated individuals. These findings support prospective evaluation of recombinant zoster vaccination as a potential strategy to improve outcomes in patients with established dementia.

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