Association of Herpes Zoster and Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

PLoS One. 2016 May 12;11(5):e0155175. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0155175. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of our study was to determine the association of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and the risk of herpes zoster (HZ).

Methods: In this cohort study, we selected 4736 patients with T1DM registered in the Catastrophic Illness Patient Database who received insulin therapy before 2003 and 18944 participants without DM who were selected by frequency matched based on sex and age. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was used to measure the hazard ratios (HRs) of HZ in the T1DM group compared with that in the non-T1DM group.

Results: Cox proportional hazard regression analysis showed that the adjusted HR of HZ was 2.38 times higher for patients in the T1DM group (95% CI = 1.77-3.19) than for those in the non-T1DM group. According to diabetes severity, mild and serious T1DM patients were associated with a higher risk of HZ (adjusted HR = 2.26, 95% CI = 1.67-3.05; and adjusted HR = 5.08, 95% CI = 2.66-9.71, respectively) than subjects without T1DM.

Conclusion: Patients with T1DM are at a higher risk of HZ than those without T1DM.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Comorbidity
  • Demography
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / complications*
  • Female
  • Herpes Zoster / complications*
  • Herpes Zoster / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Male
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This study is supported in part by Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare Clinical Trial and Research Center of Excellence (MOHW105-TDU-B-212-133019); China Medical University Hospital, Academia Sinica Taiwan Biobank, Stroke Biosignature Project (BM10501010037); NRPB Stroke Clinical Trial Consortium (MOST 104-2325-B-039 -005); Tseng-Lien Lin Foundation, Taichung, Taiwan; Taiwan Brain Disease Foundation, Taipei, Taiwan; Katsuzo and Kiyo Aoshima Memorial Funds, Japan; and CMU under the Aim for Top University Plan of the Ministry of Education, Taiwan. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. No additional external funding received for this study.