Risk of Herpes Zoster in Patients with Pulmonary TB [TB0113]

• The cumulative incidence of herpes zoster (HZ) was significantly higher in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) compared to those without TB.
• Patients with TB had an increased risk of developing HZ, with crude and adjusted hazard ratios (cHR and aHR) of 1.20 and 1.23, respectively.
• This risk was further elevated in TB patients with comorbidities like diabetes mellitus (DM), chronic kidney disease (CKD), coronary artery disease (CAD), and cancer, with an adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of 1.16.
• Even in the absence of comorbidities, TB patients were 1.28 times more likely to develop HZ than non-TB patients, suggesting that TB may act as a stressor for HZ onset.
• The data source did not include smoking data, though smoking is a known risk factor for TB.
• Effective treatment for TB is essential to reduce the potential risk of HZ.

Source: Wang C-A, Chen C-H, Hsieh W-C, Hsu T-J, Hsu C-Y, Cheng Y-C, Hsu C-Y. Risk of Herpes Zoster in Patients with Pulmonary Tuberculosis—A Population-Based Cohort Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023; 20(3):2656. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032656