"For the Elderly, a Flu Vaccine Reduces Risk of Heart Disease, Stroke"
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"For the Elderly, a Flu Vaccine Reduces
Risk of Heart Disease, Stroke" Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com)
(04/03/03) P. D3; Tomsho, Robert
A study conducted by researchers at the
Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota
involved data from 286.000 patients over the age of 65 years and determined that
influenza vaccination can reduce the risk of heart disease by 19 percent and the
risk of stroke by 23 percent. The study, published in the New England Journal
of Medicine, also concluded that vaccine recipients were 50 percent less likely
to die from any cause compared to people who did not receive the vaccine.
Minneapolis VA Center chief of medicine and lead researcher Kristin Nichol
asserts that the vaccine's beneficial qualities stem from flu prevention rather
than from any medical or chemical impact of the vaccine itself. The results of
the study is another sign that flu vaccination rates for people over the age of
65 years need improvement, says Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
epidemiologist Jim Singleton.
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