In 2013, the National Institute of Health published the results of a study in which they took a closer look at the link between childhood asthma and herpes zoster virus, more commonly known as “shingles”. In this study, they were able to firm up the connection between these two by showing the same association even when using a second predictor of asthma, the Asthma Predictive Index (API). (The API was developed in 2007 to be used as a predictor of which children would likely develop asthma, based on a variety of criteria.) In a more recent study, researchers sought to see if the same connection between asthma and shingles held true with adults.

Many of us are familiar with shingles, as it originates from the same virus that causes chickenpox in children. The virus remains dormant in the nervous system for a very long time, often decades, and while the cause of the reemergence of this virus isn’t precisely known, it is more commonly found among seniors and those with a weakened immune system, affecting nearly a million people each year. When the virus reemerges as shingles, it takes the form of series of blisters or a rash that burns and often stretches across the torso but can affect the neck, arms, and face as well. Like the chickenpox, it often only affects people once, but for some nerve damage from the virus can create pain that lasts for weeks or even years.

This most recent study examined the records of nearly 1000 adults. In comparing asthma rates vs the control group and controlling for other factors, the study showed that for adults with asthma, there was roughly a 70% greater risk of developing shingles than adults without. That’s a strong and useful link, particularly in that it provides another significant risk factor in predicting the development of shingles later in life.

So what does this mean? First, the study concludes that some consideration should be given to immunizing adults with asthma over the age of 50. It’s often these older adults that develop shingles, and this link to asthma helps to narrow the field to those who are more likely to be affected by the virus. While this new study links asthma to shingles, it makes no claims as to the reason for the link, there’s often a correlation between immune diseases and respiratory system and skin. Further research, randomized studies, is needed, but this could ultimately lead to a better targeting of those for whom the zoster vaccine may be most useful. This also opens up another avenue of study with regard to immunological disease and the role innate and adaptive immune functions play in microbial infections.

To read the abstract of a new study links asthma to shingles.