Dataset Information

Partner Bereavement and Risk of Herpes Zoster: Results from Two Population-Based Case-Control Studies in Denmark and the United Kingdom.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Psychological stress is commonly thought to increase the risk of herpes zoster by causing immunosuppression. However, epidemiological studies on the topic are sparse and inconsistent. We conducted 2 parallel case-control studies of the association between partner bereavement and risk of zoster using electronic healthcare data covering the entire Danish population and general practices in the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink.

Methods

We included patients with a zoster diagnosis from the primary care or hospital-based setting in 1997-2013 in Denmark (n = 190671) and 2000-2013 in the United Kingdom (n = 150207). We matched up to 4 controls to each case patient by age, sex, and general practice (United Kingdom only) using risk-set sampling. The date of diagnosis was the index date for case patients and their controls. We computed adjusted odds ratios with 99% confidence intervals for previous bereavement among case patients versus controls using conditional logistic regression with results from the 2 settings pooled using random-effects meta-analysis.

Results

Overall, the adjusted odds ratios for the association between partner bereavement and zoster were 1.05 (99% confidence interval, 1.03-1.07) in Denmark and 1.01 (.98-1.05) in the United Kingdom. The pooled estimates were 0.72, 0.90, 1.10, 1.08, 1.02, 1.04, and 1.03 for bereavement within 0-7, 8-14, 15-30, 31-90, 91-365, 366-1095, and >1095 days before the index date, respectively.

Conclusions

We found no consistent evidence of an increased risk of zoster after partner death. Initial fluctuations in estimates may be explained by delayed healthcare contact due to the loss.

SUBMITTER: Schmidt SA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5850543 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Partner Bereavement and Risk of Herpes Zoster: Results from Two Population-Based Case-Control Studies in Denmark and the United Kingdom.

Schmidt Sigrun A J SA Vestergaard Mogens M Pedersen Henrik S HS Schønheyder Henrik C HC Thomas Sara L SL Smeeth Liam L Mansfield Kathryn E KE Sørensen Henrik T HT Forbes Harriet J HJ Langan Sinéad M SM

Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America 20170301 5

<h4>Background</h4>Psychological stress is commonly thought to increase the risk of herpes zoster by causing immunosuppression. However, epidemiological studies on the topic are sparse and inconsistent. We conducted 2 parallel case-control studies of the association between partner bereavement and risk of zoster using electronic healthcare data covering the entire Danish population and general practices in the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink.<h4>Methods</h4>We included patients with a zos ...[more]

PMID: 27986685

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Project description:BackgroundVaccination against herpes zoster was introduced in the United Kingdom in 2013 for individuals aged 70 years, with a phased catch-up campaign for 71-79 year olds. Vaccine introduction has resulted in a marked fall in incident herpes zoster and in post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), but formal evaluation of vaccine effectiveness is needed.MethodsIn a population-based cohort study of older individuals born between 1933 and 1946, we used linked UK anonymised primary care health records for the first three years of the vaccination programme (01/09/2013-31/08/2016) and multivariable Poisson regression to obtain incidence rates and vaccine effectiveness (VE) against zoster and PHN.ResultsAmong 516,547 individuals, 21% were vaccinated. Incidence of zoster was 3.15/1000 person-years in vaccinees and 8.80/1000 person-years in unvaccinated individuals. After adjustment, VE was 64% (95%CI = 60-68%) against incident zoster and 81% (95%CI = 61-91%) against PHN, with very similar VE estimates in the routine and catch-up cohorts. VE against zoster was lower in those with a previous history of zoster: 47% (95%CI = 31-58%) versus 64% (95%CI = 60-68%) in those without previous zoster. There was evidence of waning VE over time, from 69% (95%CI = 65-74%) in the first year after vaccination to 45% (95%CI = 29-57%) by the third year.ConclusionThis first formal assessment of VE in the UK zoster vaccination programme demonstrates good effectiveness of zoster vaccine, and very good protection against PHN. The findings provide evidence that VE is similar across the age groups targeted for vaccination in the UK, and on duration of protection of the vaccine in public health use. The study provides key information for decision-makers about the future direction of UK zoster vaccination programme, indicating that the live zoster vaccine may be more cost-effective than estimated previously. It also supports efforts to communicate the benefits of zoster vaccination to address the declining coverage observed across the UK.

Project description:BackgroundPsychological stress is commonly cited as a risk factor for melanoma, but clinical evidence is limited.ObjectivesThis study aimed to evaluate the association between partner bereavement and (i) first-time melanoma diagnosis and (ii) mortality in patients with melanoma.MethodsWe conducted two cohort studies using data from the U.K. Clinical Practice Research Datalink (1997-2017) and Danish nationwide registries (1997-2016). In study 1, we compared the risk of first melanoma diagnosis in bereaved vs. matched nonbereaved people using stratified Cox regression. In study 2 we estimated hazard ratios (HRs) for death from melanoma in bereaved compared with nonbereaved individuals with melanoma using Cox regression. We estimated HRs separately for the U.K. and for Denmark, and then pooled the data to perform a random-effects meta-analysis.ResultsIn study 1, the pooled adjusted HR for the association between partner bereavement and melanoma diagnosis was 0·88 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0·84-0·92] across the entire follow-up period. In study 2, we observed increased melanoma-specific mortality in people experiencing partner bereavement across the entire follow-up period (HR 1·17, 95% CI 1·06-1·30), with the peak occurring during the first year of follow-up (HR 1·31, 95% CI 1·07-1·60).ConclusionsWe found decreased risk of melanoma diagnosis, but increased mortality associated with partner bereavement. These findings may be partly explained by delayed detection resulting from the loss of a partner who could notice skin changes. Stress may play a role in melanoma progression. Our findings indicate the need for a low threshold for skin examination in individuals whose partners have died. What is already known about this topic? Psychological stress has been proposed as a risk factor for the development and progression of cancer, including melanoma, but evidence is conflicting. Clinical evidence is limited by small sample sizes, potential recall bias associated with self-report, and heterogeneous stress definitions. What does this study add? We found a decreased risk of melanoma diagnosis, but increased mortality associated with partner bereavement. While stress might play a role in the progression of melanoma, an alternative explanation is that bereaved people no longer have a close person to help notice skin changes, leading to delayed melanoma detection. Linked Comment: Talaganis et al. Br J Dermatol 2020; 183:607-608.

Project description:ObjectivesTo investigate whether partner bereavement is associated with adverse cardiovascular and kidney-related events in people with reduced kidney function.DesignTwo parallel matched cohort studies using linked routinely collected health data.SettingEngland (general practices and hospitals using linked Clinical Practice Research Datalink, Hospital Episode Statistics, and Office of National Statistics) and Denmark (hospitals and community pharmacies using the Danish National Patient, Prescription and Education Registries and the Civil Registration System).ParticipantsBereaved people with reduced kidney function (estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60mL/min/1.73m2 (England) or hospital-coded chronic kidney disease (Denmark)) and non-bereaved people with reduced kidney function similarly defined, matched on age, sex, general practice (England), and county of residence (Denmark) and followed-up from the bereavement date of the exposed person.Main outcome measuresCardiovascular disease (CVD) or acute kidney injury (AKI) hospitalization, or death.ResultsIn people with reduced kidney function, we identified 19,820 (England) and 5,408 (Denmark) bereaved individuals and matched them with 134,828 (England) and 35,741 (Denmark) non-bereaved individuals. Among the bereaved, the rates of hospitalizations (per 1000 person-years) with CVD were 31.7 (95%-CI: 30.5-32.9) in England and 78.8 (95%-CI: 74.9-82.9) in Denmark; the rates of hospitalizations with AKI were 13.2 (95%-CI: 12.5-14.0) in England and 11.2 (95%-CI: 9.9-12.7) in Denmark; and the rates of death were 70.2 (95%-CI: 68.5-72.0) in England and 126.4 (95%-CI: 121.8-131.1) in Denmark. After adjusting for confounders, we found increased rates of CVD (England, HR 1.06 [95%-CI: 1.01-1.12]; Denmark, HR 1.10 [95%-CI: 1.04-1.17]), of AKI (England, HR 1.20 [95%-CI: 1.10-1.31]; Denmark HR 1.36 [95%-CI: 1.17-1.58]), and of death (England, HR 1.10 [95%-CI: 1.05-1.14]; Denmark HR 1.20 [95%-CI: 1.15-1.25]) in bereaved compared with non-bereaved people.ConclusionsPartner bereavement is associated with an increased rate of CVD and AKI hospitalization, and death in people with reduced kidney function. Additional supportive care for this at-risk population may help prevent serious adverse events.

Project description:PurposeTo examine the effectiveness of the recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) for preventing herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO) in the general United States population.DesignRetrospective, observational cohort study.ParticipantsIndividuals enrolled in the OptumLabs Data Warehouse (OLDW; OptumLabs, Cambridge, MA) who were age eligible for herpes zoster (HZ) vaccination (≥50 years of age) from 2018 through 2019. The OLDW is a longitudinal, de-identified administrative claims and electronic health record database of patients in the United States with commercial insurance, Medicare Part D, or Medicare Advantage METHODS: Patients were required to have 365 days or more of continuous enrollment to be eligible. Those with a diagnosis code of HZ or an immunocompromising condition within 1 year before study inclusion were excluded. Vaccination with the RZV was ascertained by Current Procedural Terminology codes, and HZO was ascertained by International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, codes. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the hazard ratio of HZO associated with RZV, and inverse-probability weighting was used to control for confounding. Vaccine effectiveness was calculated from hazard ratios.Main outcome measuresIncidence of HZO in vaccinated versus unvaccinated person-times and vaccine effectiveness were assessed.ResultsFrom January 1, 2018, through December 31, 2019, a total of 4 842 579 individuals were included in this study. One hundred seventy-seven thousand two hundred eighty-nine (3.7%) received 2 valid doses of RZV. The incidence rate of HZO was 25.5 cases (95% confidence interval [CI], 17.4-35.8 cases) per 100 000 person-years in the vaccinated group compared with 76.7 cases (95% CI, 74.7-78.7 cases) in the unvaccinated group. The overall adjusted effectiveness of RZV against HZO was 89.1% (95% CI, 82.9%-93.0%).ConclusionsThe effectiveness of RZV against HZO in individuals 50 years of age and older is high in a clinical setting. However, the low vaccination rate in this study highlights the public health need to increase HZV use. Ophthalmologists can play an important role in recommending vaccination to eligible patients.

Dataset Information

Partner Bereavement and Risk of Herpes Zoster: Results from Two Population-Based Case-Control Studies in Denmark and the United Kingdom.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Partner Bereavement and Risk of Herpes Zoster: Results from Two Population-Based Case-Control Studies in Denmark and the United Kingdom.

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