Several studies have indicated that getting the flu raises your chance of having a stroke, but research is still being gathered on whether getting the flu shot can help prevent a stroke.

A study published today in the online issue of Neurology®, suggests that getting an annual flu shot may be linked to a lower risk of stroke.

“Studies have shown that getting the flu increases your risk of having a stroke,” says study author Francisco J. de Abajo, “but research is still being collected on whether getting the flu vaccine can help protect against a stroke.”

The study looked at ischemic stroke, which is the most common type of stroke and happens when blood flow to the brain is blocked.

For the study, researchers examined a health care database in Spain to identify individuals at least 40 years old who had their first stroke within a 14-year span. Each stroke patient was compared to five other people the same age and gender. There were 71,610 persons who did not have a stroke and 14,322 people who did.

Then, the researchers looked at whether or not the flu shot had been given at least 14 days before the stroke or before the same date for those who did not have a stroke.

In comparison to those who did not have a stroke, 41.4% of those who had a stroke had gotten the flu vaccine. However, those who received the vaccine were more likely to be older and to have additional risk factors for stroke, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. After adjusting for those variables, researchers discovered that people who took a flu shot had a 12% lower risk of having a stroke than people who did not.

The researchers also examined whether the pneumonia vaccine reduced the risk of stroke and discovered that it had no protective effect.

“These results are yet another reason for people to get their yearly flu shot, especially if they are at an increased risk of stroke,” de Abajo adds. “To be able to reduce your risk of stroke by taking such a simple action is very compelling.”

Since it was an observational study, it doesn’t prove that getting a flu shot lowers the chance of having a stroke. It only shows that there is a link.

“This observational study suggests,” as explained by the author, “that those who have a flu shot have a lower risk of stroke. To determine whether this is due to a protective effect of the vaccine itself or to other factors, more research is needed.”

There could be other things that have an effect on the risk of stroke that were not measured.

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