Getting a Flu Shot May Reduce Your Risk of Stroke

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Getting a flu shot may not only protect you from catching the virus, it may also protect you from suffering a stroke, according to a study in which German doctors found an association between influenza vaccination and a reduced risk of stroke.

In a report in the journal Stroke, Dr. Armin J. Grau, of Klinikum der Stadt Ludwigshafen, and colleagues note that hospitalizations for stroke go up during influenza epidemics, so flu vaccination might prevent strokes.

To look into that possibility, they interviewed 370 stroke patients and 370 healthy controls of the same age and sex, to assess vaccination status, risk factors, health-related behavior, and socioeconomic factors.

Overall, only 19 percent of stroke patients had received a flu shot during the last vaccination campaign, compared with 31 percent of stroke-free controls.

In analyses controlling for potentially confounding factors, the odds of having a stroke was markedly lower in those who had been vaccinated against influenza.

While no firm conclusions can be drawn from this study, the authors say "potentially, influenza vaccination may prevent strokes" and they call for further studies to evaluate the role of the flu vaccine in preventing stroke.

SOURCE: Stroke July 2005.