Statins, psoriasis, AED abuse

Statins increase herpes zoster risk

Clinical Infectious Diseases (2013) doi: 10.1093/cid/cit745

Statins may trigger around one-in-ten cases of herpes zoster in older people, according to Canadian researchers who retrospectively reviewed 494,651 patients treated with a statin and an equal number of untreated people aged at least 66 years. The rate of herpes zoster was 13% higher among users of statins than non-users (13.25 and 11.71 per 1000 person-years, respectively). Among people with diabetes, the rate of herpes zoster was 18% higher among statins users than non-users.

The authors estimated that not prescribing statins would have avoided 11.6% of the episodes of herpes zoster among older people. Further research should clarify the mechanisms through which statins reactivate Varicella zoster virus and whether younger patients are at risk.