Your eczema could put you at a higher risk for shingles

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-08-05 17:01

International

Photo by Chelson Tamares on Unsplash

People with the inflammatory skin condition eczema may be more likely to develop shingles, according to international research. Looking at data from a UK healthcare database from 1997-2023, the researchers compared the rate of shingles in people with eczema with the general population. Once they accounted for other potential risk factors, the team say those with eczema were 28% more likely to develop shingles, with this link appearing stronger for those with more severe eczema. The researchers say the increased link could not be explained by medications eczema patients might be taking. Vaccination guidelines may need to take the link between eczema and shingles into account, they conclude.

News release

From:

Does eczema increase the risk of developing shingles?

An analysis in JDDG: Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft found that people with eczema (also known as atopic dermatitis) face an elevated risk of developing shingles (or herpes zoster).

Eczema is a chronic inflammatory skin condition, while shingles presents as a painful rash when the virus that causes chicken pox reactivates in the nervous system, particularly later in life or in immunosuppressed individuals.

When researchers analyzed 1997–2023 primary care information pertaining to 113,426,267 people listed in a UK database, they found that individuals with eczema had a 28% higher risk of developing shingles after adjusting for other influencing factors such as age, sex, comorbidities, cigarette smoking, and alcohol use. Use of immunosuppressant medications had a minimal effect on shingles risk. Also, shingles risk increased with the severity of eczema.

Mechanistically, an altered skin immune response in people with eczema may put them at risk of developing shingles.

“These findings may inform vaccination guidelines,” the authors wrote.

Attachments

Note: Not all attachments are visible to the general public. Research URLs will go live after the embargo ends.

Research Wiley, Web page The URL will go live after the embargo ends

Journal/
conference: Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK

Funder: None reported

Media Contact/s

Contact details are only visible to registered journalists.