Flu jab "may cut" stroke risk by a quarter

ConclusionThis research finds that, overall, having the flu vaccine reduced the risk of a person experiencing a stroke by about 25%. The reduction in risk seemed to be greatest within the first three months of vaccination, but remained for up to 12 months.  However, the effect lasted only if the vaccine was given early in the flu season (September to mid-November); giving the vaccine late in the flu season (mid-November to February) was not associated with significantly reduced risk.The research benefits from using data coded within the General Practice Research Database for England and Wales for almost 50,000 people with stroke or TIA, matched by age and gender to the same number of controls who had attended the GP at the same time. There is still potential for missing or miscoded information in the database, but overall the data is thought to be fairly reliable. They also adjusted their analyses for a large number of potential confounders. The researchers say there is still the potential for what they call “healthy vaccine” bias, with healthier people more likely to be vaccinated, and are perhaps less likely to have a stroke.The findings support previous studies, which the researchers say have suggested an association between recent respiratory illness and risk of a stroke; they have also studied findings that influenza vaccination may offer protection against another heart attacks. However, the biological mechanisms by which respiratory infections or influenza might p...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Neurology Older people Source Type: news