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Psychological stress did not increase herpes zoster risk
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Psychological stress caused by the death or catastrophic health event of a previously healthy spouse did not result in an increased risk for herpes zoster, according to data from a report published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
“Psychological stress has commonly been considered a trigger for [herpes zoster (HZ)]; this contention has been supported by several, but not all, studies,” the researchers wrote. “We found no evidence that psychological stress triggers HZ. The risk factors for HZ remain unknown, as are the molecular pathophysiological triggers for reactivation of varicella zoster virus; these are areas of ongoing study.”
The CDC researchers evaluated increases in HZ risk using a self-controlled case series method. They compared the risk for HZ and mental health visits in the 3 months before and the 3 months after a stressor, using data from Truven Health MarketScan commercial and Medicare databases. They identified enrollees aged 30 years and older who died or experienced a catastrophic health event from 2003 to 2010. They classified spouses as co-beneficiaries of the opposite sex within 5 years of age and evaluated the incidence of HZ and mental health benefits in the spouses.
There were 39,811 people who experienced stressful events, and 137 of them developed HZ. The relative incidence of HZ did not increase during the 90 days after the stressor. After stratifying the cohort into groups aged older than and younger than 60 years, and exploring risk periods of 1 month to 4 months, the researchers still saw no increased HZ incidence linked to stressful events.
“Patients should immediately seek care for suspected HZ so that the illness can be controlled and curtailed with timely antiviral treatment and pain management, regardless of the underlying HZ trigger,” the researchers wrote. “Meanwhile, for persons aged 60 years and older, an effective vaccine is available that can help prevent this disabling disease.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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