Association between herpes zoster and alopecia areata: a population-based study

J Dermatol. 2015 May 11. doi: 10.1111/1346-8138.12912. [Epub ahead of print]

It has been suggested that, through psychological distress and impaired systemic immunity, alopecia areata (AA) may trigger reactivation of the varicella zoster virus, which causes herpes zoster (shingles). Although the link was confirmed in one clinical case, the idea had not been studied systematically. Chen et al. carried out a case-control study using the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000 (LHID2000) compiled by Taiwan's National Health Research Institutes. In particular, they identified patients who developed herpes zoster within three years after the onset of AA. The relative risk of herpes zoster with AA was 3.74 (P < 0.001) compared with the healthy population. This finding calls for further research into a possible link between the two diseases.