SynthesisNeurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology2024
The association between varicella zoster virus and dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.
Synthesis in Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of herpes zoster infection, antivirals and vaccination on risk of developing dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2025Pooled it
- Herpesviruses, antiviral treatment, and the risk of dementia - systematic review and meta-analysis.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2025Pooled it
- Association Between Herpes Zoster Vaccination and Dementia Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Vaccines · 2026Review
- Orofacial pain and dementia: a brief narrative review of associations, putative mechanisms, and relevant clinical considerations.Odontology · 2026Review
- Varicella zoster virus and the central nervous system.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026Review
- Convergence of neuroinflammation across major neurotropic viral exposomes in AD and ADRD.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Review
- Recombinant zoster vaccine is associated with a reduced risk of dementia.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Roles of Reactive Oxygen Species in Relationships Between Viral Infections and Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- From infection to dysfunction: viral triggers and antiviral immune factors in Alzheimer's disease pathology.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- HSV-1 as a Potential Driver of Alzheimer's Disease.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Herpes zoster as risk factor for dementia: a matched cohort study over 20 years in a 10-million population in Italy.The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease · 2025Article
- Neurotropic Viruses as Acute and Insidious Drivers of Aging.Biomolecules · 2025Review
- Infectious Disease as a Modifiable Risk Factor for Dementia: A Narrative Review.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe relationship between varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection and the risk of dementia has not been previously studied specifically. Therefore, this study sought to determine the relationship between studying VZV infection and dementia occurring in the general population by conducting an extensive meta-analysis of published cases.
methodA systematic literature search was conducted in seven online databases by October 31, 2022. Heterogeneity was tested by the I
resultNine studies involving 3,326,673 subjects were included. VZV infection was associated with an increased risk of dementia (HR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.02-1.21). The risk of dementia was reduced in those who received antiviral therapy compared to those who did not (HR = 0.84, 95% CI: 0.71-0.99). In addition, VZV infection was found to be associated with an increased risk of developing dementia in the pooled results of the moderate quality study (HR = 1.81,95% CI: 1.27-2.59), and this association persisted when subgroup analyses were performed based on region (Asia: HR = 1.18,95% CI: 1.04-1.33).
conclusionsOur results suggest that VZV infection might increase the risk of developing dementia, but there is no clear mechanism about the true relationship, and since there is no effective treatment for dementia, and our results suggest that some populations can benefit from antiviral therapy, it is at least arguable that patients who develop VZV infection should be treated with appropriate antiviral medications.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.