The association between Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection, a common infectious disease that increases the incidence of multisystem diseases, and asthma was less well studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between HSV-2 infection and the prevalence of asthma.
We used data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2016 for analysis. The study population included was limited to those aged 20–45 years and contained complete information on HSV-2 infection and asthma. We calculated the prevalence of HSV-2, asthma, and HSV-2 combined with asthma separately. The association between HSV-2 infection and asthma was analyzed using multiple logistic regression. We also performed stratified analyses to reduce bias and to find sensitive cohorts.
The prevalence of HSV-2 infection was decreasing with change in time period (P for trend < 0.01), but the prevalence of asthma was increasing (P for trend < 0.01). The prevalence of HSV-2 infection was higher in those with asthma than in non-asthma participants. A positive association was found between HSV-2 infection and asthma [odds ratio (OR) = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.04–1.27]. Subgroup analysis showed that this positive association was more pronounced in participants who were male, White, 30 years ≤ age ≤ 40 years, body mass index (BMI) ≤ 28 kg/m2, 1.39 ≤ ratio of family income to poverty (PIR) < 3.49 and smokers.
There was a positive association between HSV-2 infection and asthma, and participants who were male, White race, 30 years ≤ age < 40 years, BMI ≥ 28 kg/m2, 1.39 ≤ PIR < 3.49, and smokers should receive more attention.