Getting a flu shot for six consecutive years reduces your risk of developing dementia by 14%

Getting the flu shot every winter could significantly reduce your risk of dementia, research shows.

The jab reduced the chances of developing the incurable disease by 14%.

But it only seems to work when patients have had it for at least six consecutive years.

Scientists believe the vaccines – given to nearly 30 million people in England last winter – gradually boost the aging immune system to the point where it can prevent the underlying brain damage that causes dementia.

Britain is facing an epidemic of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia due to an aging population.

The number of people affected is expected to rise from around 800,000 currently to over 1.2 million in England and Wales by 2040.

Getting the flu shot every winter could significantly reduce your risk of dementia, research shows. The jab reduced the chances of developing the incurable disease by 14%. Pictured: A woman receives her flu shot in Glasgow on September 24

There hasn’t been a major breakthrough in treatment in decades – but now scientists believe vaccines like the flu shot could play a big role in decreasing the surge in patient numbers.

Researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine in the United States followed nearly 70,000 people aged 60 or older. They monitored how many of them had received an annual flu shot and whether they subsequently developed dementia.

The results, published in the journal Vaccine, showed little difference between those who had received no vaccine and those who had been vaccinated each year for the previous four or five years. But by the time they hit six years or older, the risk decreased by an average of 14%.

There hasn’t been a major breakthrough in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in decades, but scientists now believe that vaccines like the flu shot could play an important role in the decrease. increase in the number of patients. [Stock image]

Scientists said there was no suggestion that the flu caused dementia. Instead, the benefit comes from having a vaccine later in life.

Animal studies suggest that vaccinations such as the flu shot increase the activity of immune system cells in the central nervous system that are responsible for repairing damage that can lead to dementia.

The researchers said: “Flu shots could be a low-cost, low-risk intervention for dementia.”

Dr Rosa Sancho, Alzheimer’s Research UK, called the results intriguing, adding: “Understanding why this is the case is an important avenue for further research.”