Researchers at Tokyo Women’s Medical University Target Herpes Zoster Virus (No increased risk of herpes zoster in TNF inhibitor and non-TNF inhibitor…

Managed Care Weekly Digest

Researchers at Tokyo Women's Medical University Target Herpes Zoster Virus (No increased risk of herpes zoster in TNF inhibitor and non-TNF inhibitor users with rheumatoid arthritis: epidemiological study using the Japanese health insurance ...)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Managed Care Weekly Digest -- A new study on Herpesvirus Diseases and Conditions - Herpes Zoster Virus is now available. According to news reporting from Tokyo, Japan, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, "It is controversial whether the use of biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) increases the risk of herpes zoster (HZ). We aimed to evaluate the risks of HZ in tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFI) and non-TNFI users with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) over 3 years in Japan."

Financial supporters for this research include Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (see also Herpesvirus Diseases and Conditions - Herpes Zoster Virus).

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from Tokyo Women's Medical University, "Using the Japanese health insurance database, we assigned patients with at least one RA diagnostic code and one prescription for any DMARDs (RA cases) recorded between January 2005 and December 2013 to the RA group. We randomly selected five age-, sex-, calendar year-and observation length-matched non-RA cases for each RA case (non-RA group), and assessed associations between RA and HZ. To evaluate the risks of HZ in TNFI and non-TNFI users, we conducted a nested case-control study (NCC) in the RA group. The RA group (n=6712) had a significantly higher crude incidence rate of HZ than the non-RA group (n=33 560) (14.2 vs. 8.3/1000 patient-years), and the adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of the RA versus non-RA groups was 1.43 (1.17-1.75). The NCC demonstrated that use of TNFI, non-TNFI, methotrexate, or immunosuppressive DMARDs did not increase the risks of HZ. Use of corticosteroid greater than or equal to 5 mg/day conveyed a significant risk of HZ in patients with RA."

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "Rheumatoid arthritis was significantly associated with the development of HZ, and use of corticosteroids greater than or equal to 5 mg/day was identified as a significant risk factor, whereas either TNFI or non-TNFI use were not."

For more information on this research see: No increased risk of herpes zoster in TNF inhibitor and non-TNF inhibitor users with rheumatoid arthritis: epidemiological study using the Japanese health insurance database. International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases, 2018;():. International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases can be contacted at: Blackwell Publishing Inc, 350 Main St, Malden, MA 02148, USA. (Wiley-Blackwell - www.wiley.com/; International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases - onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1756-185X)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting R. Sakai, Division of Epidemiology and Pharmacoepidemiology of Rheumatic Diseases, Institute of Rheumatology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan. Additional authors for this research include S. Kasai, F. Hirano, S. Harada, M. Kihara, W. Yokoyama, M. Tsutsumino, K. Nagasaka, R. Koike, H. Yamanaka, N. Miyasaka and M. Harigai.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1111/1756-185X.13300. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Publisher contact information for the International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases is: Blackwell Publishing Inc, 350 Main St, Malden, MA 02148, USA.

Keywords for this news article include: Tokyo, Virology, DNA Viruses, Epidemiology, Health Insurance, Membrane Proteins, Health and Medicine, Herpes Zoster Virus, Risk and Prevention, DNA Virus Infections, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Information Technology, Tumor Necrosis Factors, Herpesviridae Infections, Joint Diseases and Conditions.