Stroke Risk 31% Higher With Shingles

Research has shown a higher stroke risk among people who recently had shingles, a painful skin infection. But a new study pins down the risk for different groups. The study looked at 7,760 adults who had been treated for shingles and 23,280 who had not. Within one year, 1.7% of the shingles group had a stroke. The rate was 1.3% for the no-shingles group. Researchers adjusted the numbers for other differences between groups that could affect their stroke risk. They found that overall stroke risk was 31% higher for those who had shingles. This means there were 131 strokes in the shingles group for every 100 in the no-shingles group. But risk was even higher for those who had shingles in or around the eye. It was more than four times as high as for people with no shingles. The study is in the October 9 issue of the journal Stroke.