Zoster Vaccine Lowers Stroke and Myocardial Infarction Risk in Chronic Disease.

Am J Prev Med

Department of Dermatology, Penn State Health, Hershey, Pennsylvania; Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania. Electronic address:

Published: November 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • Herpes zoster (shingles) is linked to a higher risk of stroke and heart attacks; this study aimed to see how a specific vaccine affects that risk in at-risk patients, like those with diabetes or hypertension.
  • Using data from a large health database, researchers compared 27,093 vaccinated adults to five times that number of unvaccinated controls, monitoring their health for five years.
  • Results showed vaccinated individuals had significantly lower rates of both stroke (1.61% vs 2.20%) and myocardial infarction (1.29% vs 1.82%), especially among those with diabetes, indicating that the vaccine may help reduce these serious health risks.

Article Abstract

Introduction: Herpes zoster increases stroke and myocardial infarction risk. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of live attenuated zoster vaccination on stroke and myocardial infarction risk in patients at risk of zoster, including those with hypertension, diabetes mellites, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, asthma, and chronic liver disease.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study utilizing continuous de-identified claims data from the IBM MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters Database (collected from 2005-2018) containing data for 200 million commercially insured Americans. Participants included 27,093 adults vaccinated against zoster with at least 5 years of continuous enrollment, age and sex-matched 1:5 with unvaccinated controls. OR, risk difference, and the number needed to treat evaluated the effect of vaccination on stroke and myocardial infarction while controlling for relevant comorbidities.

Results: Over the period of 5 years, proportions of myocardial infarction (1.29% vs 1.82%; p<0.05) and stroke (1.61% vs 2.20%; p<0.05) were lower in vaccinated versus unvaccinated individuals, respectively, controlling for age and sex, with the greatest benefit for people with diabetes (stroke OR=0.64, 95% CI=0.58, 0.71; myocardial infarction OR=0.63, 95% CI=0.57, 0.71). Although hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease had the highest odds of stroke and myocardial infarction, vaccination still provided significant risk-reduction (hypertension: stroke 0.75 [0.68, 0.83], myocardial infarction 0.73 [0.65, 0.81]; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: stroke 0.75 [0.68, 0.83], myocardial infarction 0.74 [0.66, 0.83]).

Conclusions: Live attenuated zoster vaccination is associated with lower risk of stroke and myocardial infarction in adults with at-risk comorbidities, controlling for age and sex. Vaccination may provide cardiovascular benefits beyond zoster prevention.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2024.06.018DOI Listing

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