Risk of herpes zoster infection in men with varicocele

Associations between organic erectile dysfunction and the risk of herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia in men

BACKGROUND

Whether erectile dysfunction (ED) leads to considerable stress for affected men remains unclear? In this study, we investigated whether organic ED (OED) is associated with increased risks of herpes zoster (HZ) and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).

METHODS

A representative subset of Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database was employed for this study. Enrollees with OED from the years 2000 to 2018 were selected. To ensure comparability between the case and control groups, we implemented 1:1 propensity score matching based on age, index year, comorbidities, and medications.

RESULTS

The case group included 20,808 patients with OED, while the control group consisted of 20,808 individuals without OED. The OED group exhibited a significantly elevated risk of HZ (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 1.74) and PHN (aHR = 1.56) compared to the non-OED group.

CONCLUSIONS

Men experiencing OED seem to face elevated risks of HZ and PHN compared to those without OED. ED may serve as a warning sign for individuals at HZ risk.

Obstructive sleep apnea increases the risk of herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia

OBJECTIVE

Diseases associated with chronic pain are typically a major source of stress for patients; and have been linked to herpes zoster (HZ) development. Here, we investigated whether obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a potential stressor that increases the risk of HZ and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) in affected individuals.

METHODS

The data used in this study were obtained from the National Health Insurance Research Database. The study cohort included patients aged between 20 and 100 years who had OSA during the period from 2000 to 2017 (with tracking completed until 2018). The case group and the control group were matched at a 1:1 ratio on the basis of age, sex, comorbidities, and index year, with patients who had outcomes before the index date being excluded. The outcomes considered in this study were HZ and PHN. The risk of HZ and PHN with and without OSA was calculated, and age, sex, comorbidities, and index year were adjusted for.

RESULTS

There were 25,211 patients in each group. Patients with OSA had a significantly higher risk of HZ (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 1.22) than those without did. The patients with OSA had also a significantly higher risk of PHN (aHR = 1.36) than those without did. In term of comorbidities, the patients with OSA without (aHR = 1.28) and with (aHR = 1.17) comorbidities had a significantly higher risk of HZ compared with those without OSA. In addition, the patients with OSA but no other comorbidities (aHR = 1.68) had a significantly higher risk of PHN than those without did.

CONCLUSION

OSA increases the risk of not only HZ but also PHN. Therefore, patients with OSA should be aware of the potential effect of the disease on their stress levels, as well as the increased risk of developing HZ and PHN.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease associated with greater herpes zoster risk than alcoholic fatty liver disease

BACKGROUND

Disease-related stress can trigger the occurrence of herpes zoster (HZ). Fatty liver disease (FLD) can have adverse effects on the human body and may induce stress in affected individuals. In this study, we investigated whether FLD is associated with an elevated risk of HZ.

METHODS

For this study, we utilized data from the National Health Insurance Research Database, patients with FLD from 2000 to 2017 were observed (follow-up until 2018). Patients were considered to have FLD if they had at least two outpatient visits or at least one admission record with a diagnostic code of FLD. Patients with FLD were matched 1:1 by age, sex, comorbidities, and index year with control patients. Additionally, the FLD was further categorized into non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD) groups. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards model was used to calculate the incidence rate and adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of HZ for FLD and AFLD and for various age groups, sex and comorbidities. Cumulative incidence curve for HZ was plotted through the Kaplan-Meier method, and p-value was calculated using the log-rank test.

RESULTS

After 1:1 propensity-score matching, each cohort comprised 62,418 patients. The FLD cohort was further divided into NAFLD and AFLD groups, which respectively comprised 55,709 and 6709 patients. The FLD cohort had a risk of HZ significantly higher than that of the control cohort (aHR = 1.06; p < 0.001). Additionally, the NAFLD group exhibited a significantly higher risk of HZ than did the AFLD group (aHR = 1.22; p < 0.001). Among patients without any comorbidities, those with FLD had a higher risk of HZ than did those without FLD (aHR = 1.14; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Patients with FLD are at an increased risk of HZ development. Additionally, NAFLD is associated with a higher risk of HZ than AFLD. Therefore, patients with NAFLD should be informed of their increased risk of HZ.

Risk of Herpes Zoster in Patients with Pulmonary Tuberculosis-A Population-Based Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), a global health problem, is typically caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Herpes zoster (HZ) is caused by the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus (VZV). The reactivation of VZV can be caused by stress. We investigated whether pulmonary TB increases the risk of HZ development.

METHODS

This study used data that sampled a population of 2 million people in 2000 from the National Health Insurance Research Database. This cohort study observed Taiwanese patients aged 20-100 years with pulmonary TB from 2000 to 2017 (tracked to 2018). Pulmonary TB was defined as having two or more outpatient diagnoses or at least one admission record. To address potential bias caused by confounding factors, the control cohort and pulmonary TB cohort were matched 1:1 by age, gender, index year, and comorbidities. Patients with HZ before the index date were excluded.

RESULTS

A total of 30,805 patients were in the pulmonary TB and control cohorts. The incidence rate of HZ in pulmonary TB and control cohorts were 12.00 and 9.66 per 1000 person-years, respectively. The risk of HZ in the pulmonary TB cohort (adjusted hazard ratios = 1.23; 95% confidence interval = 1.16-1.30) was significantly higher than that of in control cohort. Among patients without comorbidities, the patients with TB were 1.28-fold more likely to have HZ than those without TB.

CONCLUSION

Patients with TB should be well treated to avoid the potential risk of HZ occurrence. Although we identified the association between pulmonary TB and HZ, further studies are needed to confirm the result.

Chondromalacia patella increases the risk of herpes zoster: a population-based study

BACKGROUND

The reactivation of herpes zoster (HZ) is associated with disease stress. However, the relationship between chondromalacia patella (CMP) and HZ remains poorly understood. This study investigated the relationship between CMP and the risk of developing HZ.

METHODS

Data were collected from the Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. Patients with CMP diagnosed between 2000 and 2017 were assigned to the case group; patients without CMP were randomly selected from the same database and paired with controls matched by age and sex. The primary outcome was a diagnosis of HZ. All patients were followed until their diagnosis of HZ, their withdrawal from the NHI program, their death, or the end of 2017, whichever was earliest. The risk of developing HZ was compared between the case and control groups.

RESULTS

In total, 22,710 patients with CMP and 90,840 matched controls were enrolled. The overall incidence rates of HZ in the CMP and control cohorts were 7.94 and 7.35 per 1,000 person-years, respectively. After potential confounders were controlled for, the case group exhibited a higher risk of HZ than did the control group [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 1.06, p < 0.05]. In a stratification analysis by age, patients over 65 years old in the CMP group exhibited a higher risk of HZ than did those in the control group (aHR = 1.22, p < 0.01). In a stratification analysis by sex, women with CMP were at greater risk of developing HZ than women without CMP (aHR = 1.18, p < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

Patients with CMP, especially elder adults and women, exhibited a higher risk of HZ. The HZ risk of patients with CMP should thus be assessed, and the necessity of HZ vaccination should be informed.

The Risk of Herpes Zoster in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Retrospective Population-Based Study

Background: The association between polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and the risk of herpes zoster (HZ) remains unclear. This study investigated the risk of HZ in women with PCOS. Methods: This study used data from the Longitudinal Generation Tracking Database (LGTD 2005) which contains the information of 2 million randomly selected from National Health Insurance beneficiaries. Patients who received a diagnosis of PCOS between 2000 and 2017 were included in the PCOS cohort. Patients who were not diagnosed as having PCOS were randomly selected from the LGTD 2005 and included in the control cohort. Patients who were aged <20 years and had a history of HZ before the index date were excluded. Patients who were in both the cohorts were matched at a ratio of 1:1 through propensity score matching based on age, comorbidities, and medication. The primary outcome was the diagnosis of HZ. Results: A total of 20,142 patients were included in each case and control cohorts. The incidence rates of HZ in the PCOS and control cohorts were 3.92 and 3.17 per 1000 person-years, respectively. The PCOS cohort had a significantly higher risk of HZ than did the control cohort (adjusted hazard ratios [aHR] = 1.26). Among the patients aged 30−39 years, those with PCOS had a significantly higher risk of HZ than did those without PCOS (aHR = 1.31). Among the patients without any comorbidities, those with PCOS had a significantly higher risk of HZ (aHR = 1.26) than did those without PCOS. Conclusion: PCOS is associated with the risk of HZ, especially in young women. The risk of HZ should be addressed while treating patients with PCOS. An HZ vaccine is recommended for these patients.

Association between de Quervain syndrome and herpes zoster: a population-based cohort study

OBJECTIVE

Both physical diseases such as infection and chronic pain and psychological disorders such as depression have been associated with herpes zoster (HZ) reactivation. However, the relationship between de Quervain syndrome (DQS), a painful tenosynovitis and HZ remains unclear. We investigated whether DQS increases the risk of HZ reactivation.

DESIGN

A retrospective population-based cohort study.

SETTING

Taiwan.

PARTICIPANTS

We used a subset of Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database, the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database which contains the registration files and original claims data of 1 million randomly selected individuals from the National Health Insurance programme. The case group in this study comprised patients newly diagnosed with DQS between 2000 and 2012. Individuals without DQS comprised the control group. Cases and controls were 1:1 matched by age, sex and index year (defined as the year of DQS diagnosis).

RESULTS

Approximately 55% of the participants were ≤49 years. Most participants were women (77%). The incidence rate of HZ in the DQS group was 8.39 per 1000 person years. After adjustments for age, sex and comorbidities, patients with DQS had a 1.30 times higher risk of HZ reactivation than the control group. Stratification analysis revealed taht DQS increases the HZ risk in individuals ≤64 years, women, and patients without comorbidities.

CONCLUSION

DQS is associated with an increased risk of HZ. Clinicians should be aware of this risk when dealing with patients with DQS, particularly in young adults.

Plantar fascial fibromatosis and herpes zoster

Purpose

Infection, chronic pain and depression are considered risk factors for herpes zoster (HZ). However, the correlation between plantar fascial fibromatosis (PFF) and HZ remains unknown. This study investigated HZ risk in patients with PFF.

Methods

Data was extracted from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000, which is a subsample of the Taiwan National Health Insurance (NHI) Research Database and contains 1 million NHI beneficiaries. Between 2000 and 2012, patients diagnosed as having PFF were included in the case cohort. Every case was age and sex-matched with individuals without PFF through 1:4 frequency matching (control cohort). The end of the follow-up was defined as December 31, 2013, the date of HZ diagnosis, death, emigration, or withdrawal from the NHI program.

Results

In total, 4,729 patients were diagnosed as having PFF and were matched with 18,916 individuals without PFF. Patients with PFF were 1.23 times more likely to develop HZ than were those without PFF. Among those aged ≥65 years, patients with PFF had a higher HZ risk than did those without PFF (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 1.48). Men with PFF had a significantly higher risk of HZ than did men without PFF (aHR = 1.44).

Conclusion

Patients with PFF, particularly older and male patients, having a high HZ risk and may thus be vaccinated for HZ.

To Investigate the Risk of Herpes Zoster in Women With Endometriosis: A Taiwan National Population-Based Cohort Study

Background: The objective of this study is to investigate the occurrence of herpes zoster (HZ) in patients with endometriosis.

Methods: This retrospective population-based cohort study was conducted using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Between 2000 and 2012, women aged ≥20 years with newly diagnosed endometriosis were enrolled into the endometriosis group. Each patient with endometriosis was randomly matched to 4 controls according to age and index year. All the patients were traced from the index date to HZ diagnosis, loss to follow-up, death, or the end of December 2013.

Results: In total, 19,147 patients with newly diagnosed endometriosis and 76,588 participants without endometriosis were enrolled. The incidence of HZ was higher in endometriosis persons (5.36 per 1,000 person-years) than in matched controls (4.43 per 1,000 person-years) (p < 0.001). After adjustment for age and comorbidities, patients with endometriosis age ≤ 49 years (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 1.17) (p < 0.001) and 50–64 years (aHR = 1.27) (p < 0.05) showed significantly higher risk of HZ than the corresponding controls. Among women without any comorbidities, patients with endometriosis were 1.22 times (p < 0.001) more likely to have HZ than those without endometriosis.

Conclusion: Taiwanese women with endometriosis may have a higher rate of HZ occurrence. Endometriosis seems to be a high burden for affected women. Therefore, we suggest that clinicians should be aware of HZ among women with endometriosis, although there may be ethnic differences.