Herpes zoster (HZ), also known as shingles, is a painful and commonly occurring condition in the United States. In spite of a universally recommended vaccine for use in immunocompetent adults aged 60 years and older, HZ continues to impact the American public, and a better understanding of its current incidence is needed. The objective of the current study is to estimate the overall and age- and gender-specific incidence rates (IRs) of HZ among an immunocompetent US population in 2011 following availability of a vaccine. Claims data from the Truven Health MarketScan® Research databases between 01/01/2011 and 12/31/2011 were extracted. Immunocompetent adult patients, enrolled as of January 1, 2011 were analyzed. The denominator was defined as eligible subjects who were immunocompetent, had no evidence of zoster vaccination, and no diagnosis of HZ (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis code 053.xx) in the 90 days prior to January 1, 2011. Subjects contributed person-days to the denominator until the occurrence of one of the following events: end of continuous enrollment in the database, a claim for zoster vaccination, diagnosis of HZ or end of the observation period (December 31, 2011). The numerator was defined as enrollees within the denominator file exhibiting evidence of HZ. Annual IRs were calculated for the entire population in the database as well as by gender and age group; standardized IRs were also produced using the 2010 US Census data. The overall annual IR of HZ across all ages was 4.47 per 1000 person-years (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 4.44–4.50) which monotonically increased with age from 0.86 (95 % CI: 0.84–0.88) for those aged ≤19 to 12.78 (95 % CI: 12.49–13.07) for patients ≥80 years. The IR was 8.46 (95 % CI: 8.39–8.52) among adults ≥50 years and 10.46 (95 % CI: 10.35–10.56) among those aged ≥60 years. Women compared to men had higher HZ incidence (5.25, 95 % CI: 5.21–5.29 vs. 3.66, 95 % CI: 3.62–3.69) and this was seen across all age groups. When adjusted for age and gender using 2010 US Census data, the annual IR was 4.63 per 1000 person-years (95 % CI: 4.61–4.66). Despite the availability of a vaccine, HZ remains common among immunocompetent adults in the US with incidence rates of HZ observed to increase with age and be higher in women than men.

The most common complication of herpes zoster (HZ) is postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), a persistent pain that can substantially affect quality of life (QoL). This analysis aimed to evaluate predictors of PHN in HZ patients. A pooled analysis of prospective cohort studies of HZ patients aged ≥ 50 years from North America (Canada), Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina), and Asia (Taiwan, South Korea, and Thailand) was performed. Patients within 14 days of rash onset were included. The incidence of PHN was defined as a worst pain score of ≥ 3, persisting/appearing at >90 days after rash onset. Socio-demographics, HZ disease characteristics, treatment, pain-related interference with activities of daily living, and health-related QoL were assessed. Of 702 patients with HZ, 148 (21.1%) developed PHN. Similar risks of PHN were observed across geographic regions. On multivariate analysis, older age, greater severity of pain at rash onset, employment status, walking problems at enrollment, and pain interference affecting social relationships were significantly associated with the development of PHN. In addition to older age and severe acute pain, this study suggests that impaired physical and social functioning from acute zoster pain may play a role in the development of PHN in this prospective cohort study of HZ patients from North and Latin America and Asia.

To systematically review randomized controlled trials comparing the effect of supplementation with multiple micronutrients versus iron and folic acid on pregnancy outcomes in developing countries. MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched. Outcomes of interest were birth weight, low birth weight, small size for gestational age, perinatal mortality and neonatal mortality. Pooled relative risks (RRs) were estimated by random effects models. Sources of heterogeneity were explored through subgroup meta-analyses and meta-regression. Multiple micronutrient supplementation was more effective than iron and folic acid supplementation at reducing the risk of low birth weight (RR: 0.86, 95% confidence interval, CI: 0.79-0.93) and of small size for gestational age (RR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.78-0.93). Micronutrient supplementation had no overall effect on perinatal mortality (RR: 1.05; 95% CI: 0.90-1.22), although substantial heterogeneity was evident (I(2) = 58%; P for heterogeneity = 0.008). Subgroup and meta-regression analyses suggested that micronutrient supplementation was associated with a lower risk of perinatal mortality in trials in which > 50% of mothers had formal education (RR: 0.93; 95% CI: 0.82-1.06) or in which supplementation was initiated after a mean of 20 weeks of gestation (RR: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.80-0.97). Maternal education or gestational age at initiation of supplementation may have contributed to the observed heterogeneous effects on perinatal mortality. The safety, efficacy and effective delivery of maternal micronutrient supplementation require further research.

Background: We investigated the longitudinal association of herpes zoster (HZ), commonly known as “shingles,” and long‐term risk of stroke or coronary heart disease (CHD) among participants in 3 large US cohorts, the NHS (Nurses' Health Study), NHS II (Nurses' Health Study II), and HPFS (Health Professionals Follow‐Up Study). Methods and Results: Participants were 79 658 women in the NHS (2000–2016), 93 932 women in the NHS II (2001–2017), and 31 440 men in the HPFS (2004–2016), without prior stroke or CHD. Information on HZ, stroke, and CHD was collected on biennial questionnaires and confirmed by medical record review. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate multivariable‐adjusted hazard ratios for stroke and for CHD according to years since HZ compared with never HZ. During >2 million person‐years of follow‐up, 3603 incident stroke and 8620 incident CHD cases were documented. History of HZ was significantly and independently associated with higher long‐term risk of stroke and CHD. In pooled analyses, compared with individuals with no history of HZ, the multivariable‐adjusted hazard ratios (95% CIs) for stroke were 1.05 (0.88–1.25) among those with 1 to 4 years since HZ, 1.38 (1.10–1.74) for among those with 5 to 8 years since HZ, 1.28 (1.03–1.59) among those with for 9 to 12 years since HZ, and 1.19 (0.90–1.56) among those with ≥13 years since HZ. For CHD, the corresponding multivariable‐adjusted hazard ratios (95% CIs) were 1.13 (1.01–1.27) for 1 to 4 years, 1.16 (1.02–1.32) for 5 to 8 years, 1.25 (1.07–1.46) for 9 to 12 years, and 1.00 (0.83–1.21) for ≥13 years. Conclusions: HZ is associated with higher long‐term risk of a major cardiovascular event. These findings suggest there are long‐term implications of HZ and underscore the importance of prevention.