Impact of Type 1 Versus Type 2 Diabetes on Developing Herpes Zoster and Post-herpetic Neuralgia: A Population-based Cohort Study

• Main Authors: Su-Ying Wen (Author), Chao Ou-Yang (Author), Catherine Chang (Author), Chu-Chieh Chen (Author), Hung-Yu Chang (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Medical Journals Sweden, 2023-10-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.2340/actadv.v103.9400; 0001-5555; 1651-2057
• Keywords: herpes zoster; post-herpetic neuralgia; type 1 diabetes mellitus; type 2 diabetes mellitus; Vaccines; Dermatology; RL1-803
• Source: Acta Dermato-Venereologica, Vol 103 (2023)

Type 2 diabetes is associated with an increased risk of herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia. However, the association of type 1 diabetes with herpes zoster or postherpetic neuralgia remains unclear. This retrospective cohort study using Taiwan's Health Insurance Research Database included 199,566 patients with type 1 diabetes and 1,458,331 with type 2 diabetes, identified during the period 2000 to 2012. Patients with type 1 diabetes had a significantly higher risk of developing herpes zoster than those with type 2 diabetes (p < 0.001). Across all age groups, the impact of diabetes on herpes zoster was greater in type 1 than in type 2 diabetes. Patients with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes had a 1.45-fold higher risk of post-herpetic neuralgia than those without diabetes (hazard ratio 1.45, 95% confidence interval 1.28-1.65; hazard ratio 1.45, 95% confidence interval 1.37-1.52, respectively), and there was no difference between the 2 types of diabetes (hazard ratio 1.06; 95% confidence interval 0.93-1.21). The results recommend consideration of herpes zoster vaccination at an earlier age in patients with type 1 diabetes.