Herpes patients at higher risk of Psoriasis, states cohort study

Taiwan: A recent study published in the Australasian Journal of Dermatology has demonstrated an increased risk of Psoriasis in patients diagnosed with herpes zoster.

There are several cases mentioned in the literature for herpes zoster-induced Psoriasis.

A study was conducted by a team of researchers led by Dr Chen from Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan, to examine,

What is the risk association between herpes zoster and Psoriasis?

The key points of the study are:

• The nature of the study was a nationwide retrospective cohort study.

• The selection of patients was made from Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database.

• From 1999 – 2013, 26623 patients were selected who were diagnosed with herpes zoster.

• The study patients had no prior history of Psoriasis.

• The subjects selected for the control group were not diagnosed with herpes zoster.

• Kaplan–Meier analysis and Cox Proportional-Hazards Models were used for data analysis.

• On comparison between the study group and the control group, the adjusted hazard ratio was 1.66 with a 95% Confidence Interval and the p-value was < 0.05

• Adjustments were made for covariates like age, gender, urbanization, selected comorbidities and medications.

• Statistical analysis found no interaction effect among herpes zoster and other covariates for risk modification of psoriasis development.

The researchers finally concluded, "Our study results demonstrate that there is an increased risk of psoriasis in patients diagnosed with herpes zoster."

The study highlights that Herpes zoster patients have a higher risk for Psoriasis.

The study "Risk of herpes zoster in psoriasis patients receiving systemic therapies: a nationwide population-based cohort study", published in SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, concluded that patients with moderate to severe Psoriasis treated with etanercept, adalimumab, and methotrexate have a higher risk of Herpes Zoster.

In the present study, Dr Amy Shen from the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA, said that Patients of herpes zoster have an almost 1.66 times higher risk of developing Psoriasis as demonstrated in the study.

Further reading:

Chen YW, Shen A, Wang YH, Wei JC, Yeh CJ. Increased risk of Psoriasis: An immune sequela of herpes zoster? Evidence from a nationwide population-based cohort study. Australas J Dermatol. 2022 Nov 4. doi: 10.1111/ajd.13945. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36331824.