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Very common, the vast majority of men have at some point been affected by the varicella zoster virus (VZV) usually during childhood, in the form of chickenpox. The virus can then remain dormant in the body’s cells and occasionally reactivate, resulting in shingles. According to a study, these people are also more at risk of cardiovascular problems.
According to a study by scientists at Harvard Medical University, people who have had shingles, which is a reactivation of the chickenpox virus, have a 30% increased risk of developing a cardiovascular problem in the long term. .
Data from a cohort of over 200,000 people
The scientists looked at data from a cohort of almost 200,000 people. Data from English health personnel – mainly nurses – registered with the first edition of the NHS (National Health Service), in the 1970s and with NHS II, the years that followed. “A total of 79,658 women in the NHS, 93,932 women in the NHS II and 31,440 men in the HPFS were included in the analyses, making a total of 205,030 volunteers“write the authors.
A risk for twelve years after the onset of shingles
The volunteers therefore report every two years, by means of questionnaires, their state of health and their illnesses. The scientists chose people with no cardiovascular problem and those who provided the year of onset of shingles. By crossing these data, the authors of the study found that 3,603 strokes and 8,620 cardiovascular incidents had occurred.
These pathologies were found more in people who had previously declared shingles. Analyzing the data, there is a 30% increased risk of stroke and cardiovascular problems associated with shingles, which persists for up to 12 years after reactivation of the VZV virus.
A virus capable of generating inflammation
According to the researchers, the explanation for this increased risk is to be found in the functioning of the VZV virus. Indeed, it would be able to generate inflammation, by being able to replicate in the cells that form the arteries. A phenomenon capable of weakening the entire cardiovascular system and thus promoting the onset of strokes and other cardiovascular pathologies.
However, one of the limitations of this study is that the data is from people who have not been vaccinated against shingles. The authors now want to collect new data from vaccinated patients, to find out if their initial findings still apply.