New US research links shingles with a higher risk of experiencing cognitive decline.
Scientists at Harvard University’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston reported people who have had shingles (herpes zoster) at some point in their lives have a 20% increased risk of developing subjective cognitive decline later on.
The study, published in Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy, also found that having had shingles carried a higher risk of ‘subjective cognitive decline’ for men who carried the gene APOE4 – associated with cognitive impairment and dementia – compared to women.
Subjective cognitive decline, or SCD, ‘is a state when self-perceived cognitive decline is present, but objective cognitive impairments cannot be detected,’ explained lead author Dr Tian-Shin Yeh.
She noted that while SCD may be mild, the concern is that it may lead to more serious cognitive issues later on, telling medicalnewstoday.com: ‘About 7% progress to dementia and 21% to mild cognitive impairment, and those with SCD have about 2.2 times higher risk of developing dementia compared to those without SCD.’
Meanwhile the study’s finding of a higher incidence of SCD among men with the APOE4 gene remains unexplained for now.
Dr Yeh commented: ‘This sex difference is intriguing but not yet fully understood. Previous research has shown sex differences in how the APOE genotype and other risk factors relate to Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegeneration.
‘These differences could be due to genetic factors, hormonal influences, or differences in how Alzheimer’s pathology develops in men versus women.’
