Recombinant Zoster Vaccine Reduces 3-Year Cardiovascular Risk: Insights From a Multi-Centered Database

Herpes zoster increases the risk for stroke and myocardial infarction. Zoster vaccination's impact on this risk is understudied. This retrospective work sought to determine if prophylactic herpes zoster vaccination may reduce the risk of stroke, myocardial infarction, and/or mortality.

A cohort analysis utilized TriNetX, a national, federated database. In one analysis, patients who received 2 doses of recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) were compared to adults without RZV. A 1:1 propensity-score match analysis was conducted to adjust for demographics and comorbidities in calculating adjusted relative risks (aRR) with 95% confidence intervals. First-time incidences for myocardial infarction, stroke, and mortality were assessed after 3 years. A subgroup analysis between RZV and zoster vaccine live (ZVL) was also assessed.

Matched cohorts of 7,657 patients revealed that adults who received 2 doses of RZV were at lower risk of MI (aRR [95% CI]) = (0.73 [0.55, 0.96]) and mortality (0.7 [0.57, 0.88]) while having similar risk for stroke (0.97 [0.75, 1.26]). Further subgroup analysis also revealed a reduced risk of 3-year mortality when compared to the ZVL cohort (0.84 [0.74, 0.95]). Sample size and comorbidities included in the analysis were limited by using a large database.

RZV reduces the 3-year risk for myocardial infarction and mortality. J Drugs Dermatol. 2023;22(12):1178-1182. doi:10.36849/JDD.7415.