Risk Factors for Herpes Zoster Infection: A Meta-Analysis

The burden of herpes zoster (HZ) is significant worldwide, with millions affected and the incidence rising. Current literature has identified some risk factors for this disease; however, there is yet to be a comprehensive study that pools all evidence to provide estimates of risk. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify various risk factors, excluding immunosuppressive medication, that may predispose an individual to developing HZ.

The literature search was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central, yielding case control, cohort, and cross-sectional studies that were pooled from January 1966 to September 2017. Search terms included the following: zoster OR herpe* OR postherpe* OR shingle* AND risk OR immunosupp* OR stress OR trauma OR gender OR ethnicity OR race OR age OR diabetes OR asthma OR chronic obstructive pulmonary disease OR diabetes. Risk ratios (RRs) for key risk factors were calculated via natural logarithms and pooled using random-effects modeling.

From a total of 4417 identified studies, 88 were included in analysis (N = 3, 768 691 HZ cases). Immunosuppression through human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (RR = 3.22; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.40-4.33) or malignancy (RR = 2.17; 95% CI, 1.86-2.53) significantly increased the risk of HZ compared with controls. Family history was also associated with a greater risk (RR = 2.48; 95% CI, 1.70-3.60), followed by physical trauma (RR = 2.01; 95% CI, 1.39-2.91) and older age (RR = 1.65; 95% CI, 1.37-1.97). A slightly smaller risk was seen those with psychological stress, females, and comorbidities such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, renal disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, and inflammatory bowel disease compared with controls (RR range, 2.08-1.23). We found that black race had lower rates of HZ development (RR = 0.69; 95% CI, 0.56-0.85).

This study demonstrated a number of risk factors for development of HZ infection. However, many of these characteristics are known well in advance by the patient and clinician and may be used to guide discussions with patients for prevention by vaccination.