A new study from the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology found that the shingles vaccine might not only prevent shingles but also may help older adults age more slowly at the biological level.
Researchers used data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study and looked at more than 3,800 people in the U.S. who were aged 70 or older in 2016. They compared vaccinated and unvaccinated participants and checked several signs of biological aging.
The study found that people who got the shingles vaccine after age 60 showed slower biological aging on average compared to those who did not get vaccinated. Vaccinated participants also had body markers linked to lower inflammation and slower aging at the molecular level. Notably, these findings stayed the same even after the researchers considered other factors like age, background, and health conditions.
"By helping to reduce this background inflammation - possibly by preventing reactivation of the virus that causes shingles - the vaccine may play a role in supporting healthier aging," explained study author Jung Ki Kim from the University of Southern California.
"While the exact biological mechanisms remain to be understood, the potential for vaccination to reduce inflammation makes it a promising addition to broader strategies aimed at promoting resilience and slowing age-related decline."
However, the study does not prove that the shingles vaccine directly causes healthier aging. Still, the findings support other studies that suggest the vaccine may offer wider health benefits in older age, especially for the heart and brain.
"While further research is needed to replicate and extend these findings, especially using longitudinal and experimental designs, our study adds to a growing body of work suggesting that vaccines may play a role in healthy aging strategies beyond solely preventing acute illness," concluded study co-author Eileen Crimmins.
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