Seniors Benefit Widely From Flu Shot, Study Says
People older than 65 who get flu shots are far less likely to be hospitalized for heart disease and stroke, researchers said Wednesday.
“Should people sit up and say, ‘Wow’? Absolutely,” said Kristin Nichol, lead author of a statistical study of influenza vaccinations published in today’s edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
“There aren’t many things we do in medicine that are safe, relatively inexpensive and provide huge benefits to people,” said Nichol, of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Minnesota.
Results of a study of more than 286,000 elderly people show that hospital stays for heart disease or stroke during two flu seasons were reduced among those who got flu shots.
“Influenza may be even worse than we thought. And flu shots might be even better than we thought,” Nichol said.
New government figures show that influenza contributes to an average 36,000 annual U.S. deaths.
Flu shots are now recommended for all adults 50 and older. In 2001, about 63% of those over 65 were vaccinated in the United States.
The researchers checked medical records for those older than 65 enrolled in three managed-care plans -- in the Minneapolis, New York City, and Portland, Ore., areas -- during the 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 flu seasons. Of the 140,055 people studied in the first season, 56% were vaccinated. In the second, 60% of the 146,328 enrollees got flu shots.
Researchers compared hospital stays for those who got shots and those who didn’t. Flu vaccination cut hospitalizations for heart disease by 19% both seasons, the findings showed. Hospital stays for stroke were reduced by 16% the first season and 23% the second.
Dr. William Schaffner, head of preventive medicine at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said the results need to be investigated further.
The researchers also found that immunization cut hospital stays by about one-third for the flu and pneumonia, a common complication, and reduced by half the risk of death from any cause. The findings are similar to previous studies.
Nichol said that the connection between the flu and heart disease and stroke isn’t clear but that the virus could be affecting blood vessels and the development of clots.
