Abstract
BackgroundThe impact of body mass index on incidence of herpes zoster is unclear. This study investigated whether body mass index was associated with a history of herpes zoster and incidence during a 3-year follow-up, using data from a prospective cohort study in Japan.MethodsIn total, 12,311 individuals were included in the cross-sectional analysis at baseline, of whom 1,818 with a history of herpes zoster were excluded from the incidence analysis, leaving 10,493 individuals. Body mass index (kg/m2) was classified into three categories (underweight: <18.5; normal: 18.5 to <25; and overweight: ≥25). To evaluate the risk of herpes zoster, we used a logistic regression model for prevalence and a Cox proportional hazard regression model for incidence.ResultsBeing overweight or underweight was not associated with herpes zoster prevalence at baseline. The multivariate hazard ratios of herpes zoster incidence for overweight versus normal-weight groups were 0.67 (95% confidence interval, 0.51–0.90) in all participants, and 0.57 (95% confidence interval, 0.39–0.83) in women, with no significant difference for men.ConclusionBeing overweight was associated with a lower incidence of herpes zoster than being normal weight in older Japanese women.
Highlights
Varicella-zoster virus is the pathogen that causes herpes zoster (HZ) and typically causes varicella rash
The overweight group had the lower proportions of current smokers and those who exercised ≥3 hours per week, walked ≥1 hour per day, slept for
In a large population-based study among over 10,000 residents aged ≥50 years, we found no association between body mass index (BMI) and past history of HZ in cross-sectional analysis
Summary
Varicella-zoster virus is the pathogen that causes herpes zoster (HZ) and typically causes varicella rash. The epidemiology of incidence and risk factors for HZ has been assessed by several studies in the United Kingdom,[4] United States,[5,6] Canada,[7] and Japan.[8] most of the studies were cross-sectional, except for one Japanese cohort study.[8] Risk factors for HZ have been reported to be age, sex, ethnicity, genetic susceptibility, cell-mediated immune disorders, mechanical trauma, and psychological stress.[6,9] Physicians and primary school teachers, who had repeatedly contact with varicella patients, had a lower risk of developing HZ, probably because their cell-mediated immunity was enhanced.[6,10] Use of varicella vaccine to enhance varicella-zoster virus-specific cell-mediated immunity has been shown to prevent the development of HZ in older people.[11,12] A previous study of 290 volunteers aged 40–45 years showed that body mass index (BMI) was positively associated with selected cell-mediated immunity parameters.[13] We hypothesized that BMI may have some impact on the development of HZ. This study investigated whether body mass index was associated with a history of herpes zoster and incidence during a 3-year follow-up, using data from a prospective cohort study in Japan
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