From: Canadian Medical Association Journal
First published February 22, 2011, doi: 10.1503/cmaj.101137
CMAJ March 22, 2011 vol. 183 no. 5 E275-E280
http://www.cmaj.ca/content/183/5/E275
Risk of herpes zoster among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a population-based study
Ya-Wen Yang, MD MS, Yi-Hua Chen, PhD, Kuo-Hsien Wang, MD MS, Chen-Yi Wang, MD, Hui-Wen Lin, PhD
The authors give the background for their study: “Systemic inflammation and dysregulated immune function in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is hypothesized to predispose patients to development of herpes zoster. However, the risk of herpes zoster among patients with COPD is undocumented. We therefore aimed to investigate the risk of herpes zoster among patients with COPD.”
The authors describe their study methods: “We conducted a cohort study using data from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database. We performed Cox regressions to compare the hazard ratio (HR) of herpes zoster in the COPD cohort and in an age- and sex-matched comparison cohort. We divided the patients with COPD into three groups according to use of steroid medications and performed a further analysis to examine the risk of herpes zoster.”
The results of the study were as follows: “The study included 8486 patients with COPD and 33 944 matched control patients. After adjustment for potential confounding factors, patients with COPD were more likely to have incidents of herpes zoster (adjusted HR 1.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.45–1.95). When compared with the comparison cohort, the adjusted HR of herpes zoster was 1.67 (95% CI 1.43–1.96) for patients with COPD not taking steroid medications. The adjusted HR of herpes zoster was slightly greater for patients with COPD using inhaled corticosteroids only (adjusted HR 2.09, 95% CI 1.38–3.16) and was greatest for patients with COPD using oral steroids (adjusted HR 3.00, 95% CI 2.40–3.75).”
The authors conclude, “Patients with COPD were at increased risk of herpes zoster relative to the general population. The relative risk of herpes zoster was greatest for patients with COPD using oral steroids.”
See also ScienceDaily, February 23, 2011
Patients with COPD Have Higher Risk of Shingles
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110222121903.htm
This article discusses the previous study and quotes one of the coauthors: “There is increasing evidence that COPD is an autoimmune disease. “Given that various immune-mediated diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, have been reported to be associated with an increased risk of herpes zoster, it is reasonable to hypothesize that immune dysregulation found in COPD may put patients at higher risk of developing herpes zoster,” writes Dr. Hui-Wen Lin, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan.”
and EurekAlert!, February 22, 2011
Patients with COPD have Higher Risk of Shingles
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-02/cmaj-pwc021511.php
and PubMed.gov
Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2009;4:233-43. Epub 2009 Jun 11.
Particulate matter air pollution exposure: role in the development and exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19554194
and EurekAlert!
COPD could be a problem with autoimmunity
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-11/ats-ccb111610.php
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