An Association Between Herpes Zoster Vaccination and Stroke Reduction Among Elderly Individuals.

An Association Between Herpes Zoster Vaccination and Stroke Reduction Among Elderly Individuals. Mil Med. 2019 Mar 01;184(Supplement_1):126-132 Authors: Klaric JS, Beltran TA, McClenathan BM Abstract Herpes zoster (HZ, shingles) affects individuals (60+ years) by reactivation of varicella virus from primary infection. Approximately one-third of the general population will develop HZ and are at increased risk of stroke. Our objective was describing possible associations between self-reported HZ vaccination and stroke with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System, a cross-sectional nationwide telephone survey. Non-institutionalized U.S. adults answered items concerning health risk behaviors. 2014 survey data were from 265,568 adults 50-79 years old. Multivariable Cox regressions adjusted for standard demographics, body mass index, and coronary heart disease showed that HZ-vaccinated individuals had lower risk of reporting stroke those not vaccinated (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.73). After stratification of participants into six 5-year age groups, adjusted weighted binary logistic regressions were conducted for each age group with stroke as outcome. The HZ-vaccinated group aged 65-69 years reported stroke approximately 50% less than those unvaccinated (adjusted Odds Ratio [aOR] = 1.51; 99% confidence interval [CI]:1.21,1.88). Secondary analyses indicated that this benefit was among HZ-vaccin...
Source: Military Medicine - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: Mil Med Source Type: research