Varicella-zoster virus reactivation and the risk of dementia.

ABSTRACT: Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is a neurotropic virus that establishes lifelong latency in humans. VZV reactivation is associated with a wide range of symptoms, including herpes zoster (HZ; also known as shingles), and has been implicated in the development of dementia, although to an unknown extent. Here we present a large-scale longitudinal analysis of health records from more than 100 million individuals in the United States that demonstrates a consistent relationship of VZV reactivation with dementia after controlling for nearly 400 measured characteristics (covering demographics, socioeconomic factors, comorbidities, medications, proxies for healthcare-seeking behavior, shifts in clinical guidelines and completeness of records). We found that recurrent HZ was associated with an increase

SUBMITTER: Polisky V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12705433 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature