People who get vaccinated against the flu each year may have a lower risk of having a stroke or stroke. This has been revealed by an observational study carried out by researchers at the Príncipe de Asturias University Hospital, although more work remains to be done to find out if it is due to the direct effect of the vaccine or not contracting the disease.
Previous research has shown that people who get the flu have a higher risk of having a stroke, so the authors wanted to know if people who are vaccinated could reduce or prevent this type of stroke, specifically ischemic stroke, which is It is caused by the obstruction of blood flow to the brain.
The study published in the journal Neurology was based on health care data in Spain, which included people aged at least 40 years who had had a stroke in a period of 14 years. Each individual with these characteristics was compared with five others of the same age and sex and it was analyzed whether they had received the flu vaccine at least 14 days before suffering the stroke or before that date in the case of those who had not. Dyed.
Up to 12% lower risk of stroke with the flu vaccine
There were 14,322 people treated for a stroke and 71,610 people who did not. The results indicated that those vaccinated against the flu had up to a 12% lower risk of stroke than those who did not receive these doses. Specifically, it was observed that 41.4% of those who had a stroke had been vaccinated, while the figure dropped to 40.5% in those who had not.
“These results are yet another reason for people to get an annual flu shot, especially if they are at increased risk of stroke.”
However, those who were vaccinated were more likely to be older and to have other health problems, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, that would make them more likely to have a stroke. Taking these data into account and adjusting the risk, the conclusion was reached that the risk was 12% lower if they received the flu vaccine.
“These results are yet another reason for people to get an annual flu shot, especially if they are at increased risk of stroke. Being able to reduce the risk of stroke through such a simple action is very convincing”, explained Francisco J. de Abajo, lead author of the research.
.
