Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34625411›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2021

Shingles, Zostavax vaccination and risk of developing dementia: a nested case-control study-results from the UK Biobank cohort.

Artitaya Lophatananon, Krisztina Mekli, Rachel Cant, Alistair Burns, Curtis Dobson, Ruth Itzhaki, Kenneth Muir

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
45citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
5.2field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

45 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 64 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  8. Article
  9. Varicella zoster virus infection.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2026
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  14. Varicella zoster virus and the central nervous system.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026
    Review
  15. Reduced risk of dementia with recombinant zoster vaccine in US adults age 65 or older.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Artitaya LophatananonDivision of Population Health, Health Services Research and Primary Care,School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-0550-4657
Krisztina MekliDivision of Population Health, Health Services Research and Primary Care,School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Rachel CantDivision of Pharmacy & Optometry, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Alistair BurnsDivision of Neuroscience & Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Curtis DobsonDivision of Pharmacy & Optometry, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Ruth ItzhakiThe Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Kenneth MuirDivision of Population Health, Health Services Research and Primary Care,School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK kenneth.muir@manchester.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0001-6429-988X
Manchester Academic Health Science Centre · GBUniversity of Manchester · GBUniversity of Oxford · GB

Funding

Medical Research Council MC_PC_17228Medical Research Council MC_QA137853
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo investigate the association between shingles and dementia, and between Zostavax vaccination and dementia.

designNested case-control study. SETTINGS: Data were drawn from the UK Biobank cohort study with a total of 228 223 participants with Hospital Episodes Statistics and primary care linkage health records.

participantsThe analyses included 2378 incident dementia cases and 225 845 controls. Inclusion criteria for incident cases were a dementia diagnosis 3 years or more after the first assessment date derived from all sources including International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10, ICD-9, self-report and primary care linkage records. Subjects with no dementia code from all sources were coded as controls. Both shingles and Zostavax vaccination were investigated for their association with dementia risk.

resultsThere was a small but non-significant increase in the risk of dementia in subjects with shingles diagnosed 3 years or more prior to dementia diagnosis (OR: 1.088 with 95% CI: 0.978 to 1.211). In those subjects who had had Zostavax vaccination, the risk of dementia significantly decreased (OR: 0.808 with 95% CI: 0.657 to 0.993).

conclusionA history of shingles was not associated with an increased risk of dementia. In subjects who were eligible for the immunisation and vaccinated with Zostavax, we saw reduced risk of developing dementia.

Indexed as

DementiaHerpes ZosterHerpes Zoster VaccineBiological Specimen BanksCase-Control StudiesCohort StudiesHumansUnited KingdomVaccinationHerpes Zoster Vaccinedementiaepidemiologypublic health

Identifiers

PMID34625411
PMCPMC8504358
OpenAlexW3203201467

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.