Herpes zoster in SLE: prevalence, incidence and risk factors

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and incidence of herpes zoster (HZ) events and describe its associated factors in a study of patients with SLE. METHODS: 491 consecutive SLE participants were screened for HZ events using a patient-reported questionnaire to capture outcomes on pain and other characteristics associated with HZ events. Sociodemographic, clinical and laboratory measures were also analysed, and time-dependent Cox regression survival analyses were performed to investigate factors associated with HZ events. RESULTS: Prevalence of HZ was 30.5%, incidence was 14.3 cases per 1000 person-years. Lymphopenia and glucocorticoid dosing were significantly associated with HZ events. CONCLUSIONS: HZ is highly prevalent in SLE, which may be linked to disease-related and treatment-related effects on cellular immunity. Our results suggest that the presence of certain risk factors may be useful to allow identification of patients at risk of HZ and improve its management in patients with SLE.