People who were eligible for the shingles vaccine seem to be less likely to get diagnosed with dementia later on—and this link holds up no matter how researchers tweaked their study rules, which makes it look pretty real.

People who got the shingles vaccine didn’t have more or fewer other health problems than those just barely eligible for it—and since those groups were otherwise similar, it looks like the vaccine might help lower dementia risk, not just luck or other health habits.

Getting the shingles shot might help lower your risk of dementia, and this benefit isn’t just because people who got the shot didn’t get shingles later or didn’t take antiviral drugs — it’s something else about the vaccine itself.

Getting the shingles shot might help lower your chances of getting dementia later in life—and this link shows up no matter how scientists check the data, so it’s probably real and not just a fluke.

Getting the shingles shot might help lower your risk of getting dementia later on—not because people who get the shot go to the doctor more or get diagnosed with other illnesses less, but because the vaccine itself might be doing something protective for the brain.

Getting the shingles vaccine might help lower your risk of getting dementia later on—not because people who get the vaccine go to the doctor more or have fewer other health problems, since those things didn’t change in the same way for other serious diseases.