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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neurotechnology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1471736

Association between herpes zoster and Parkinson's disease & dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Provisionally accepted
Yanfeng Zhang Yanfeng Zhang 1Yang Xu Yang Xu 2*Weiping Liu Weiping Liu 1
  • 1 Tangshan City Fengnan District Hospital, Tangshan, Hebei Province, China
  • 2 First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nankai District, Tianjin, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objectives: This meta-analysis investigated the relationship between herpes zoster and the risk of dementia or Parkinson's disease by analyzing published clinical studies.We systematically searched PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and Web of Science Core Collection databases on April 25, 2024. Hazard ratios (HR) were used for statistical analyses. Random-effects models were applied, and heterogeneity was assessed using the I² statistic.Results: Herpes zoster was associated with a non-significant trend towards increased dementia risk (HR = 1.11, 95% CI 0.99-1.24, p = 0.07) but significantly increased Parkinson's disease risk (HR = 1.15, 95% CI 1.03-1.30, p = 0.02). Subgroup analyses revealed that herpes zoster significantly elevated the risk of the prospective study subgroup (HR = 1.08, 95% CI 1.02-1.13, p = 0.004) and vascular dementia subgroup (HR = 1.17, 95% CI 1.00-1.37, p = 0.05). Significant heterogeneity was observed for both outcomes (dementia: I² = 98%, p < 0.00001; Parkinson's disease: I² = 94%, p < 0.00001).Herpes zoster raises the risk of Parkinson's disease and vascular dementia, with a potential causal link to dementia. Early vaccination against herpes zoster is recommended over post-infection antiviral treatment to mitigate risks.

    Keywords: Parkinson's disease, Dementia, Meta-analysis, Herpes Zoster, Systematic review

    Received: 28 Jul 2024; Accepted: 14 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Xu and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Yang Xu, First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nankai District, 300193, Tianjin, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.