Having shingles may increase the risk of having a stroke years later, according to research led by Professor Judith Breuer.
The study, published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found people aged 18 to 40 who had had shingles were more likely to have a stroke, heart attack or transient ischemic attack (TIA) years later compared to people who had not had shingles. People over 40 who had shingles were more likely to have a heart attack or TIA, but not a stroke, than those who had not had shingles.
Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash. It is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. After people recover from chickenpox, the virus stays dormant in the nerve roots. In some people, the virus reactivates years later as shingles.
Professor Breuer, who is BRC-supported, led a study involving 106,600 people who had shingles and 213,200 people of similar ages who did not have shingles. Using a United Kingdom database, researchers reviewed the participants’ records for an average of six years after the shingles diagnosis and for as long as 24 years for some participants.
People under 40 years old were 74 percent more likely to have a stroke if they had had shingles, after adjusting for stroke risk factors such as obesity, smoking and high cholesterol. A total of 40 people with shingles had a stroke, or 0.21 percent, compared to 45 of those who had not had shingles, or 0.12 percent. People under 40 were 2.4 times more likely to have a TIA if they had shingles, and 50 percent more likely to have a heart attack.
The numbers were not as large in people over 40 who were 15 per cent more likely to have a TIA and 10 percent more likely to have a heart attack if they had shingles.
Professor Breuer said better screening and treatment of older people for stroke risk factors such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure may explain the difference between the age groups.
“Anyone with shingles, and especially younger people, should be screened for these risk factors,” Breuer said. “The shingles vaccine has been shown to reduce the number of cases of shingles. Studies are needed to determine whether vaccination can also reduce the incidence of stroke and heart attack.”
The study was supported by Sanofi Pasteur MSD, the European maker of the shingles vaccine.
