Systemic corticosteroid use is linked to a 60% higher risk of developing herpes zoster, with the odds highest in the first month of treatment, Australian researchers have found in a population-based study.

The data linkage research, drawing on the longitudinal 45 And Up cohort in NSW (mean age 70), found zoster risk increased sixfold in the month after receiving a steroid script compared with non-users of steroids.

The researchers found every 100mg increase in cumulative prednisolone equivalent dosing was associated with a 3% higher risk of zoster.

“Our findings support a judicious approach to prescribing of corticosteroids using as low a dose as possible and as short a course as possible,” wrote the authors, led by Dr Jiahui Qian (PhD) from the School of Population Health at UNSW Sydney.