Diabetes as a risk factor for herpes zoster in adults: A synthetic literature review

Overview & Synopsis

Aim: The objective of this review was to evaluate the role of diabetes as a risk factor for herpes zoster (HZ) and to discuss implications of prevention by vaccination with available HZ vaccines. Methods: We reviewed studies that investigated the incidence rates of HZ in patients with diabetes. Papers in English or French published between January 2000 and December 2018 have been selected from PubMed and Google Scholarship by using appropriate key words. Results: The risk of HZ was significantly higher in patients with diabetes as compared to controls in 11 studies out of 16, although the magnitude of risk associated to diabetes varied across studies from 1.06 to 2.38 (p < 0.05). The incidence of HZ in patients with diabetes increased with age and was higher in women than in men. The incidence of the most common complication of HZ, i.e. post-herpetic neuralgia was also higher in patients with diabetes. Conclusions: The presence of HZ adds supplementary complications to the pre-existing comorbidity in patients with diabetes. Investigating the impact of preventive measure by HZ vaccination is therefore of paramount importance in patients with diabetes.