Clinical Research Directory

Obesity and Obesity-Related Factors and Risk of Herpes Zoster (Shingles) and Postherpetic Neuralgia

Sponsor: Brigham and Women's Hospital

Summary

The investigators' objectives are to examine the longitudinal association of obesity and obesity-related factors and risk of incident herpes zoster (HZ), also known as shingles, and the longitudinal association of obesity and obesity-related factors and risk of developing post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) among those with HZ. The investigators propose to examine more refined assessments of adiposity, leveraging the resources of several large-scale ongoing cohort studies of women and men with decades of follow-up and rich health-related data, including multiple validated anthropomorphic measures, medical history, dietary intake, and lifestyle factors. The investigators will also examine existing data on plasma adipokines, cytokines, and plasma metabolomics. The investigators will use the Nurses' Health Study (NHS I), Nurses' Health Study II (NHS II), and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) (total N\>200,000) to prospectively investigate whether obesity and obesity-related factors influence the risk of developing HZ. The investigators have already identified \>30,000 cases of incident HZ among the 3 cohorts (reported with high validity) and information on HZ continues to be collected. In addition, the investigators obtained detailed information on HZ course, complications (including PHN), treatment and other related factors on a Zoster Supplemental Questionnaire (ZSQ) administered to those participants in the NHS I and II who reported "shingles" on the main questionnaires (n=10,123 to date). The investigators will also administer the ZSQ to newly identified HZ cases identified on the 2023 NHS I and NHS II biennial questionnaires. No previous study has investigated the longitudinal relation between adiposity and risk of post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). This study could provide important new insight into how obesity and obesity-related factors influence the risk of HZ, and the risk of developing PHN among individuals with HZ, and how alterations in circulating metabolites and metabolic pathways, including those that are obesity-related, are associated with risk of developing HZ and PHN.

Official title: Obesity and Obesity-Related Factors and Risk of Herpes Zoster and Postherpetic Neuralgia

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