Does psychological stress increase the risk of herpes zoster (shingles)?

Abstract

British Journal of DermatologyVolume 185, Issue 1 p. e5-e5 Plain Language Summary Does psychological stress increase the risk of herpes zoster (shingles)? First published: 02 July 2021 https://doi.org/10.1111/bjd.20443AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Abstract Linked Article: Schmidt et al. Br J Dermatol 2021; 185:130–138. Zoster (shingles) is a painful skin disease caused by the same virus that is responsible for chickenpox (varicella). After chickenpox infection, the virus rests in the nerves of the body; but later in life it may become activated and then zoster develops. This occurs in roughly one-third of the population during their lifetime and it can be triggered by a weakened immune system. Because psychological stress can have a negative impact on the immune system, it has been suggested that it can lead to zoster. We investigated the association between psychological stress and the risk of zoster. We performed a cohort (follow-up) study of 77,310 participants from a large Danish health survey conducted in 2010. In the survey, participants were asked if they thought various situations in daily life were stressful and based on this a combined score for their level of perceived stress was generated. We followed participants for approximately 4 years to see if they were diagnosed with zoster and investigated if the risk of zoster increased with their levels of stress. We found that the risk of zoster was the same for the 80% of the study participants with the lowest stress scores. However, for the 20% that had the highest levels of stress, the risk of zoster increased with increasing levels of stress. For this group, the risk was increased by up to two times that of those with the lowest levels of stress, after accounting for differences in age, sex, immune-related diseases, use of immunosuppressive drugs and lifestyle factors. In conclusion, high levels of psychological stress are associated with increased risk of zoster. Psychological stress may be a risk factor for zoster that can be altered by, for example, supporting people’s mental wellbeing. Volume185, Issue1July 2021Pages e5-e5 RelatedInformation