Adults who keep up in vaccinations said to have a LOWER chance of developing alzheimers

[hollytheteacher]

I read a quick article today in Esquire magazine (it was at the OBGYN's office) that quoted a doctor claming that adults who keep up on vaxes (and he specifically stated dtap and the flu shot as being the most important) are less likely to develop alzheimers than those who do not keep up with their shots.

I didn't really understand this. How or what could he be basing this on? I could see it actually being the opposite (e.g. the aluminium in the vaccine for one reason) OR just being completely the same odds either way. I just don't see the connection as to how or why keeping up on vaccines for a couple of unrealted diseases/illeness would help lessen the chance...

Any ideas?

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

Funny, my gut is telling me the exact opposite happens.

[nia82]

... and it also prevents you from getting lice, food poisoning and bad weather. /sarcasm end

[Juvysen]

huh?

[ASusan]

Well, what was the vaccine schedule when these (elderly?) people were young?

[Arduinna]

And it gives you a higher IQ



LOL

[japonica]

That would be interesting to find the actual study. They must have had fun finding an appropriate study group...sure, many adults get flu shots, but Tdap boosters...of all the adults in my social circle (the vast majority of whom vaccinate their kids), only my DH had a booster (this was a work requirement). The other adults I've discussed this with just don't consider getting their own boosters that much of an issue.

And I thought DTaP was for children only...I thought Tdap was preferred as the teen/adult booster.

[hollytheteacher]

and as for Esquire magazine, i've never actually read it in my life...it was the only magazine available at the OBGYN's office I was at today so i randomly stumbled across the article.

[BellaClaudia]

scoff

Between my and my husband's family 6 adults were affected with alzheimers
at 60 plus..

some died so far.. 3 of them medical doctors.

All 6! religiously vaccinated through their lives and strong supporters of any and every vacccination and pushed vaccinations upon any family members they could.

[Otto]

Originally Posted by japonica

That would be interesting to find the actual study.

I think this pretty much sums things up.

[Yulia_R]

well, yeah...

you have to remember to do those every year and this is what exersises the brain keeping alzhemers at bay

[ASusan]

Originally Posted by japonica

That would be interesting to find the actual study. They must have had fun finding an appropriate study group...sure, many adults get flu shots, but Tdap boosters...of all the adults in my social circle (the vast majority of whom vaccinate their kids), only my DH had a booster (this was a work requirement). The other adults I've discussed this with just don't consider getting their own boosters that much of an issue.

And I thought DTaP was for children only...I thought Tdap was preferred as the teen/adult booster.

But, but...sputter...they wouldn't have HAD DTaP when they were younger. THat is a more recent formulation of DPT.

Hmmm, DPT was highly reactive...maybe people who reacted badly never made it to old age...

[kriket]

Originally Posted by ASusan

.maybe people who reacted badly never made it to old age...

For sure. Kill off all the weak when they are young with vaxes and of course the remaining will be healthy as horses!

FWIW, my GP is almost 90, looks no more than a day over 70, and never had a vax until he was drafted, and never since. He was also born on the kitchen floor in Kansas and can remember breast feeding in church, biting his mom and getting popped on the head for it. He has even mentioned that he thinks extended BFing helped his brothers and sisters live well into their 90s.

[chaoticzenmom]

I think this is the study.
http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/165/11/1495

[Otto]

Originally Posted by chaoticzenmom

I think this is the study.
http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/165/11/1495

Thanks for digging that up.

[chaoticzenmom]

I think it's so surprising and unbelievable (I've yet to look at the study in depth) because for a long time, it was assumed that aluminum in pots and pans may be the culprit. This was because there was a higher level of aluminum in the brains of patients who had died of Alzheimer's disease. I remember this news because my mother threw out all of our aluminum pans at that time. Since vaccines contain heavy metals, it's kind of hard to believe that they're any kind of protection against the disease.

Maybe it's more the "type" of person who gets the vaccines, and not the vaccine that key here. Kind of like Michael Pollan says about people who take nutritional supplements. Be the "type" of person who takes them without actually taking them.

To dissect the study, I'd have to draw maps and charts to figure out who was kept in the study and who was disqualified, etc. I'm probably not going to bother doing that.

The people in this study probably still had fewer vaccinations in their whole lifetime than a 4yo has now.

[mgg]

I will say the same thing in response to this study as I do to most. This is interesting, but it is certainly not conclusive. It merits one thing. More study.

Now here is what I find a little frustrating at times. We have a thread where people are eager to whimsically joke about this and immediately seem ready to dismiss it as unbelievable. At best people are saying they want to look closely before even considering it (always a wise idea).

BUT, if the same study had found the opposite to be the case, it would be embraced here with enthusiasm as gospel truth by a great many.

You are all wise to look at this with a healthy dose of skepticism. Keep that same thing in mind the next time you read an abstract of a study where the conclusion may in some way cast an unfavorable light on immunizations too!

[chaoticzenmom]

It's called confirmatory bias. Everyone has it without exception. If you vaccinate or don't, if you're religious or not, if you have political views, if you have a laundry detergent preference, etc.

Yes, I do think that everyone should consider this in themselves before judging information as valid or invalid.

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by mgg

I will say the same thing in response to this study as I do to most. This is interesting, but it is certainly not conclusive. It merits one thing. More study.

Now here is what I find a little frustrating at times. We have a thread where people are eager to whimsically joke about this and immediately seem ready to dismiss it as unbelievable. At best people are saying they want to look closely before even considering it (always a wise idea).

BUT, if the same study had found the opposite to be the case, it would be embraced here with enthusiasm as gospel truth by a great many.

You are all wise to look at this with a healthy dose of skepticism. Keep that same thing in mind the next time you read an abstract of a study where the conclusion may in some way cast an unfavorable light on immunizations too!

I think it bears mentioning that this is judgement free zone. I think many people on this board are quite farmiliar with that feeling of frustration when a study that proposes an interesting idea is automatically shut down, discounted and disregarded.

[Qalliope]

I am curious to know what other people think about this because I read what was at that link, and all I got out of the study was that elderly people who remembered being vaccinated for polio, tetanus or diphtheria at some time in their lives were less likely to have Alzheimer's at the five-year follow-up. Now Alzheimer's can emerge slowly, and people who may not have failed the screening might still have had some early issues with their memory, and since the study required the elderly participants to self-report exposure to something they may only have had once in childhood, there is more than the usual recall bias at play. I thought it was interesting that recalling flu vaccine exposure did not have the same effect, since the exposure to that would likely have been more recent and more frequent.

Maybe it's more the "type" of person who gets the vaccines, and not the vaccine that key here. Kind of like Michael Pollan says about people who take nutritional supplements. Be the "type" of person who takes them without actually taking them.

The researches raised this possibility as well, but ultimately dismissed it in their conclusions.
"...It might also be argued that exposure to vaccines is only indirectly associated with Alzheimer's disease, as a potential marker of a healthy lifestyle. However, when we controlled for other baseline characteristics that are also related to lifestyle, the results remained the same..."