A Shot for the Ages: MIRC’s own Dr. Dawn Bowdish featured on CBC
Still debating getting the flu shot? Associate Professor Dawn Bowdish would strongly suggest that you roll up your sleeves, as vaccination now may help to mitigate the onset of chronic disease, such as dementia, decades later [...]
Still debating getting the flu shot? Associate Professor Dawn Bowdish would strongly suggest that you roll up your sleeves, as vaccination now may help to mitigate the onset of chronic disease, such as dementia, decades later.
Featured on CBC’s The National, and on the popular radio show, Metro Morning, Dr. Bowdish discusses the importance of individuals of all ages getting immunized. Numerous studies (e.g. Shah et al., 2013 & Tate et al., 2014) demonstrate that having the flu – or post-influenza pneumonia – can increase one’s chances of developing other inflammatory diseases later in life, such as dementia, cardiovascular disease, or Type II Diabetes. According to the researcher, the flu and pneumonia frequently go hand-in-hand. Often, it is not the influenza that leads to hospitalization, but rather the pneumonia you get after. Upon developing pneumonia, a large inflammatory event is triggered, which elevates your basal level of inflammation. Many of the age-associated chronic diseases, as aforementioned, share this inflammation as their root cause. As such, Dr. Bowdish recommends that people should receive a pneumococcal vaccination, in addition to influenza immunization. “Every year we invest in a vaccination is a year we invest in good health late in life,” she says.
Read more on the CBC website or listen to the radio broadcast.
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