Lupus & antiphospholipid syndrome
Frequency and associated factors of herpes zoster infection in SLE patients from Latin America: data from the GLADEL 2.0 cohort
Authors' conclusion
In the GLADEL 2.0 cohort, the high burden of HZ in SLE, together with its association with active disease, corticosteroid exposure and neuropsychiatric manifestations, underscores the need for proactive risk stratification in clinical practice.
Study context
- Population
- Latin American SLE patients, multiethnic GLADEL 2.0 observational cohort
- Participants
- 1,083 patients
- Exposure
- SLE patients with vs without herpes zoster (HZ)
- Outcome
- Frequency (prevalence, incidence) of HZ and factors associated with its first episode
Methodological detailsmultiethnic, Latin American, logistic regression, Cox regression
- Multiethnic
- Latin American
- Logistic regression
- Cox regression
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
HZ frequency
HZ cumulative incidence after SLE diagnosis
11.5%
HZ prevalence at cohort entry
8.6%
HZ incidence during 5-year follow-up
2.9%
Patients with recurrent HZ episodes
16.8%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Factors associated with HZ
- Patients with HZ: higher frequencies of alopecia, psychosis and seizures, higher disease activity, damage accrual, proteinuria and higher daily prednisone doses prior to the event
- Independent predictors of HZ occurrence (multivariate): female sex, higher SLEDAI-2K, higher daily prednisone dose
- Associated with shorter time to HZ onset: older age at diagnosis, psychosis, disease activity, higher daily prednisone dose
Original publication
Frequency and associated factors of herpes zoster infection in SLE patients from Latin America: data from the GLADEL 2.0 cohort. Lupus Sci Med. Published 23 March 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →