Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Nov 28;8(1):184.
doi: 10.1038/s41541-023-00757-0.

Healthy ageing: Herpes zoster infection and the role of zoster vaccination

Desmond Curran  1 , T Mark Doherty  2 , Nicolas Lecrenier  2 , Thomas Breuer  3
Affiliations
Review

Healthy ageing: Herpes zoster infection and the role of zoster vaccination

Desmond Curran et al. NPJ Vaccines. .

Abstract

Populations are ageing worldwide, with considerable time lived in ill-health, putting upwards pressure on healthcare budgets. Healthy ageing is defined as maintaining functional ability, including the ability to: meet basic needs; learn, grow and make decisions; be mobile; build and maintain relationships; and contribute to society. The risk and impact of infectious diseases increase with age due to immunosenescence. Vaccination can help to prevent disease in older adults, promoting healthy ageing and active lives. Herpes zoster (HZ) occurs when the varicella zoster virus is reactivated due to declining immunity. HZ is common, with a lifetime risk of one-third, and increases in incidence with age. HZ is associated with severe and intense pain, substantially affecting the functional status of patients as well as their overall health-related quality of life. HZ and its complications may result in prolonged morbidity, including persistent pain (post-herpetic neuralgia, PHN), hearing impairment, vision loss and increased risk of stroke and myocardial infarction. HZ and PHN are difficult to treat, substantiating the benefits of prevention. Vaccines to prevent HZ include a recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV). RZV has shown efficacy against the HZ burden of disease and HZ burden of interference on activities of daily living of over 90% in immunocompetent adults aged ≥50 years. Vaccine efficacy against HZ was maintained at over 70% at 10 years post-vaccination. Adult vaccination, including against HZ, has the potential to reduce burden of disease, thus helping to maintain functioning and quality of life to support healthy ageing in older adults.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

D.C., M.D., N.L. and T.B. are employed by/hold shares in GSK. N.L. received grants and declared patents from GSK. All authors declare no other financial and non-financial relationships and activities.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Schematic illustration of the potential benefit of healthy ageing, increasing the time lived in good health without extending life expectancy.
Adapted from McKinsey 2022.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Maximum Zoster Brief Pain Inventory (ZBPI) worst pain severity scores by vaccination group in subjects ≥ 50 years of age.
Based on data from Curran et al 2019 with permission from Curran D. RZV, recombinant zoster vaccine.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Plain language summary.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. Graphical abstract.
y years.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Bank Group. Life expectancy at birth, total (years) - European Union. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?locations=EU (2021).
    1. World Health Organization. The Global Health Observatory. Life Expectancy at Birth (years). Japan. https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/life-... (2020).
    1. Harbecke R, Cohen JI, Oxman MN. Herpes Zoster Vaccines. J. Infect. Dis. 2021;224:S429–S442. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiab387. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ho V, et al. Healthcare utilisation in the last year of life in internal medicine, young-old versus old-old. BMC Geriatr. 2020;20:495. doi: 10.1186/s12877-020-01894-0. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Maggi S, et al. Preventing and managing herpes zoster: key actions to foster healthy aging. Aging Clin. Exp. Res. 2015;27:5–11. doi: 10.1007/s40520-015-0314-7. - DOI - PubMed