Recombinant Zoster Vaccine (RZV) is Effective in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A US Propensity Matched Cohort Study.

Abstract

Recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) reduces the short-term risk of herpes zoster (HZ) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, there is lack of data regarding the long-term effectiveness in this population. A retrospective cohort study was conducted in adults ≥50 years old using TriNetX database between patients with IBD who received 2 doses of RZV (IBD-RZV cohort) and patients who did not receive RZV (IBD control cohort). The primary outcome was risk of incident HZ. One-to-one propensity score matching was performed for demographic parameters, co-morbid conditions and IBD medications. Risk was expressed as adjusted odds ratio (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). The IBD-RZV cohort (n=5489; mean age 63.2 ±9.1 years old and 57.2% females) was identified with a mean follow-up of 900.9 days. IBD-RZV cohort had a lower risk of HZ (aOR 0.44, 95% CI 0.32-0.62) compared to IBD control cohort. The risk of HZ was lower in patients aged 50-65 years old (aOR 0.41, 95% CI 0.25-0.68) and patients > 65 years old (aOR 0.64, 95% CI 0.42-0.96). There was a lower risk of HZ in patients with ulcerative colitis (aOR 0.41, 95% CI 0.27-0.63) and Crohn's disease (aOR 0.44, 95% CI 0.26-0.74) in the IBD-RZV cohort compared to IBD control cohort. RZV is associated with a lower long-term risk of HZ in patients ≥50 years old with IBD. Given the widespread availability and safety of RZV, more effective vaccination strategies are needed to improve RZV utilization in this high-risk population.