Chang K, et al. - A nationwide population-based study and a hospital-based, nested case-control study were performed examining whether patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in Korea have an increased risk of herpes zoster (HZ), and to identify risk factors for infection. Researchers discovered patients with IBD have an increased risk for HZ infection, particularly among patients who are male, younger, or have Crohn’s disease. In patients with IBD, corticosteroid use increased the risk of HZ infection.

Methods

• For the purpose of this investigation, incidence rates and standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) of HZ infection in patients with IBD compared with the entire Korean population was calculated using the 2009–2013 data from the Korean national health insurance claims database.
• Three hundred patients with IBD and HZ infection were matched with 895 patients with IBD without HZ in the nested case–control study, within a hospital-based cohort.

Results

• The results showed that the incidence rate and SIR of HZ infection in patients with IBD were 18.34/1,000 person-years and 1.48/1,000 person-years (95% CI, 1.42–1.54), respectively, in the nationwide population-based study.
• It was observed that the SIR for HZ infection was higher in patients with Crohn’s disease than in patients than ulcerative colitis (1.90 vs 1.36; P<.001) and higher in male patients than female patients (1.63 vs 1.33; P<.001).
• It was found that the incidence rate of HZ increased with age (Ptrend<.001), while the SIR of HZ infection decreased with age (Ptrend<.001).
• According to the findings, corticosteroid use was linked with HZ infection (for ulcerative colitis, adjusted odds ratio, 2.44; 95% CI, 1.18–5.05 and for Crohn’s disease, adjusted odds ratio, 2.70; 95% CI 1.25–5.83) in the nested case–control study.