Could the shingles vaccine help you live a healthier life as you age?
“Vaccines may do more than prevent acute infections. Our findings suggest the shingles vaccine may support healthier aging by slowing some underlying biological processes tied to aging,” says the study author Jung Ki Kim, PhD, a research assistant professor of gerontology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
How Different Aspects of Biological Aging Are Measured
Researchers analyzed health data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study, which included information from more than 3,800 adults ages 70 and older in 2016. They measured seven different aspects of biological aging to come up with a composite biological aging score, including:
- Inflammation
- Innate immunity, the body’s natural defense system against infection
- Adaptive immunity, the body’s learned defense system after exposure to vaccination or infection
- Blood flow
- Neurodegeneration, the deterioration of nerve cells in the brain
- Epigenetic aging, changes in how genes are expressed (turned “off” or “on”)
- Transcriptomic aging, gene responses that mark biological age
They found that people who received the shingles vaccine after age 60 showed evidence of slower biological aging on average, compared with those who were unvaccinated. This link remained even after accounting for race and ethnicity, income levels, and health differences between the two groups.
Why Would the Shingles Vaccine Slow Biological Aging?
In the study, participants who got a shingles vaccine had significantly lower markers of inflammation and slower epigenetic and transcriptomic aging, along with a lower composite biological aging score.
Biological aging reflects how well your body is functioning, not just how old you are in years, Dr. Kim explains. “Two people the same age can have very different biological ages depending on inflammation, immune health, molecular, and other processes.”
“The virus that causes shingles may quietly reactivate and stress the immune system over time,” Kim says. “Vaccination may reduce that ongoing immune strain, helping the body age more slowly.”
The New Study Has Some Limitations
While the new findings add to a body of research on the effects of the shingles vaccine beyond infection prevention, the research does have limitations.
The researchers note it was observational in nature, so it can’t prove that the shingles vaccine slows biological aging, only that there appears to be a link. In addition, Kim says, the study participants were only measured at one point in time, and the older shingles vaccine (Zosatvax) was studied — not the newer version (Shingrix) in use today.
Michael Woodward, MD, a geriatrician and the head of aged care research at Austin Health in Australia, also points out that the study wasn’t randomized. That leaves open a question, he says: Does the shingles vaccine really slow biological aging, “or are we seeing that effect because people who are aging more biologically slowly may also be more socioeconomically advantaged, more motivated, more health aware?”
Other Potential Benefits of the Shingles Vaccine
Dr. Woodward notes that previous studies have connected the shingles vaccine with numerous improvements in health.
“There’s been surprising evidence linking shingles vaccination not just with its primary goal — which is preventing the reactivation of the shingles virus — but also having other effects such as on dementia and heart disease [risk],” says Woodward, who has researched the effects of vaccines on longevity but wasn’t involved in the current study.
Specifically, one recent study found that shingles vaccination reduces the odds of developing dementia by 20 percent over the following seven years. Other research has shown that people who received the shingles vaccine were 23 percent less likely to develop issues like heart attack, stroke, and atrial fibrillation than those who were unvaccinated.
Who Should Get the Shingles Vaccine
Shingles, or herpes zoster, is an infection caused by the varicella zoster virus — the same virus that causes chicken pox. The shingles vaccine, called Shingrix, is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for adults 50 and older, and adults 19 and older with a weakened immune system.
Woodward advises having a discussion with your healthcare provider about getting the shingles vaccine, along with other recommended immunizations.
“I don’t want all your readers who haven’t yet been vaccinated to rush out, get the shingles vaccination, and start planning for a Bahamas cruise at the age of 105, even though they’re only 60,” he says. But “I say to my patients that one of the best ways to promote health and to prevent disease is vaccination.”
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