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Published on: June 4, 2017
Asthma increases the risk of herpes zoster: a nested case-control study using a national sample cohort
So Young Kim1, Dong Jun Oh2, Hyo Geun Choi3,4
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University, Seongnam, South Korea.
Background:
This study aimed to complement previous studies on the risk of herpes zoster in the asthmatic adult population.
Methods:
The Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service-National Sample Cohort (HIRA-NSC) from 2002 through 2013 was used. A total of 64,152 participants with herpes zoster were matched for age, sex, income, region of residence, hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia with 239,780 participants who were included as a control group. In both the herpes zoster and control groups, previous history of asthma were investigated. The crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of asthma for herpes zoster were analyzed using unconditional logistic regression analysis. Subgroup analyses were conducted according to age and sex.
Results:
Approximately 16.2% (9728/59,945) and 12.8% (30,752/239,780) of participants in the herpes zoster and control groups, respectively, had a previous history of asthma (P < 0.001). The herpes zoster group demonstrated a 1.32-times higher odds of asthma than the control group (95% CI 1.28-1.35, P < 0.001). The increased odds of asthma in the herpes zoster group persisted in all the age and sex subgroups.
Conclusions:
The odds for asthma were higher in the herpes zoster group.
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