Association between unprotected ultraviolet radiation exposure and recurrence of ocular herpes simplex virus

Abstract

Studies have suggested that exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light may increase risk of herpes simplex virus (HSV) recurrence. Between 1993 and 1997, the Herpetic Eye Disease Study (HEDS) randomized 703 participants with ocular HSV to receipt of acyclovir or placebo for prevention of ocular HSV recurrence. Of these, 308 HEDS participants (48% female and 85% white; median age, 49 years) were included in a nested study of exposures thought to cause recurrence and were followed for up to 15 months. We matched weekly UV index values from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to each participant's study center and used marginal structural Cox models to account for time-varying psychological stress and contact lens use and selection bias from dropout. There were 44 recurrences of ocular HSV, yielding an incidence of 4.3 events per 1,000 person-weeks. Weighted hazard ratios comparing persons with ≥8 hours of time outdoors to those with less exposure were 0.84 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.27, 2.63) and 3.10 (95% CI: 1.14, 8.48) for weeks with a UV index of <4 and ≥4, respectively (ratio of hazard ratios = 3.68, 95% CI: 0.43, 31.4). Though results were imprecise, when the UV index was higher (i.e., ≥4), spending 8 or more hours per week outdoors was associated with increased risk of ocular HSV recurrence.

Keywords: UV index; cohort studies; herpes simplex virus; recurrence; sunlight; ultraviolet light.

Figure 1.

Weighted Kaplan-Meier estimates of the cumulative risk of ocular herpes simplex virus recurrence among 308 participants in the Herpetic Eye Disease Study during person-weeks with an ultraviolet index value of ≥4 (top) or <4 (bottom), 1993–1997. Results were pooled over 30 imputations. Solid line, high sunlight exposure (≥8 hours/week); dashed line, low sunlight exposure (≤7 hours/week).