Flu Vaccine Linked to Lower Risk for Stroke: INTERSTROKE

Flu Vaccine Linked to Lower Risk for Stroke: INTERSTROKE

May 06, 2022

Having had a recent acute febrile illness was associated with an increased risk for ischemic stroke, whereas having received an influenza vaccination was associated with a reduced risk for stroke in a large new case–control study.

"While influenza vaccination is a cost-effective method to prevent influenza, it is also an effective way to reduce the burden of stroke," study author Christopher Schwarzbach, MD, Ludwigshafen Hospital, Germany, said.  

"Our results therefore encourage the wider use of influenza vaccination," he concluded.

Schwarzbach presented these data from the INTERSTROKE study on May 5 at the European Stroke Organisation Conference 2022, held in Lyon, France and online.

He explained that acute inflammatory disease is thought to increase the risk for cerebrovascular events, and the seasonality of influenza-like illness appears to be associated with the seasonality of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events. Previous observational studies have also shown a link between influenza vaccination and a reduced risk for stroke.

The current INTERSTROKE study was a large international case–control study conducted between 2007 and 2015 that involved 13,447 cases (patients within 5 days of their first stroke) and a similar number of age- and gender-matched people from 32 countries across the world.

All cases and control subjects were systematically asked whether they had had acute febrile illness in the previous 4 weeks and whether they had received an influenza vaccination within the previous year.

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