The study concluded that those who had gotten a flu shot were 12 percent less likely to have a stroke.
The annual flu vaccine may be associated with a lower risk of stroke, a new Spanish scientific study concluded.
The researchers, led by Dr. Francisco de Abajo of the University of Alcalá, who made the relevant publication in the journal “Neurology” of the American Academy of Neurology, analyzed data on 14,322 people over the age of 40 who had suffered an ischemic stroke (caused by a blockage of the blood flow to the brain) and 71,610 who had not suffered.
After taking into account various risk factors for stroke (age, hypertension, high cholesterol, etc.), the study concluded that those who had gotten a flu shot had 12% lower chance to suffer stroke. In contrast, the pneumonia vaccine was not found to have a similar positive effect on stroke risk.
“Other studies have shown that flu infection increases the risk of stroke, but whether the flu shot can help protect against a stroke is under investigation. Our new study shows that those who got the flu shot have a lower risk of stroke. However, to determine whether this is really due to the protective effect of the vaccine itself or to other factors, more research is needed,” said Dr. Abacho.
“In any case, these results are another reason for people to get the flu shot every year, especially if they have an increased risk of stroke,” he said. He added that this is an observational study that does not prove that the flu shot itself reduces the risk of stroke, but it does show that there is an association between the two.
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