New Zealanders at significant risk of getting shingles

Study shows New Zealanders at significant risk of getting shingles

Auckland. April 29, 2015 – A recently-published study by a Lower Hutt GP Dr Stewart Reid has shown that New Zealanders are at higher risk of getting herpes zoster (shingles) in their lifetime than was previously thought.1

The study, published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, is the first to appear on the incidence of shingles in New Zealand.

Around 97 percent of New Zealanders are at risk of shingles because they have had chickenpox previously, and international studies show that about one in three are likely to suffer shingles in their lifetime. 2

The risk and severity of this disease increases markedly from 50 years of age. Chronic pain (post herpetic neuralgia) is the most common complication of shingles and this can last for months, even years.3 Consequently, the impact on shingles sufferers can be severe, affecting all aspects of their home and work lives.

However, until Dr Reid’s study, there was no data on what the rate was in New Zealand.

Dr Reid says that it was generally thought that incidence in NZ may not have been as high as in other developed countries. However, his study concludes that incidence in NZ is similar to that reported internationally and that women are affected more often than men.1

“One of the reasons I did the study was because my patients have asked about their chances of getting shingles and whether it was worth getting vaccinated. This study shows that New Zealanders are at significant risk, especially as they age.”

Dr Reid’s study found that around one in five New Zealanders (approximately 18 percent) is likely to suffer herpes zoster (shingles) between the ages of 51 to 80 years. By the time someone reaches the age of 85 the risk has increased to one in two (50 percent). 1

Dr Reid says that his research team analysed his Ropata Medical Centre patient database to find disease coding that indicated a patient had suffered shingles, herpes zoster or post herpetic neuralgia between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2013. They also identified those who were prescribed acyclovir 800mg five times daily but who did not have any of the above disease codes.

“We were very strict about whom we recorded so, if anything, our percentages may be slightly lower than real incidence,” he comments.

ENDS

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