Increased Risk of Herpes Zoster in Adults ≥50 Years Old Diagnosed With COVID-19 in the United States.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Case reports have described herpes zoster (HZ) in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, this constitutes low-quality evidence for an association. We therefore performed a retrospective cohort study to assess the risk of developing HZ following a COVID-19 diagnosis.

Methods

We compared the HZ incidence in ≥50-year-olds diagnosed with COVID-19 vs those never diagnosed with COVID-19. We used data from the US MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters and Medicare Supplemental (3/2020-2/2021) and Optum Clinformatics Data Mart (3-12/2020) databases. Individuals with COVID-19 were exact-matched 1:4 to those without COVID-19 by age, sex, presence of HZ risk factors, and health care cost level. Adjusted incidence rate ratios (aIRRs) were estimated b

SUBMITTER: Bhavsar A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8982770 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature