OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of herpes zoster (HZ ) infection in adults over 18 years old in Colombia and its association with immune mediated diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erytematosus, systemic sclerosis, Sjogren syndrome, idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, rheumatic polymyalgia, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis, reactive arthritis, Crohn disease, and ulcerative colitis).

METHODS: We analyzed information obtained from the official database of the Ministry of Health, in a period of five years (2018-2022). Information was taken from people over 18 years of age who consulted the system due to HZ infection. To estimate the prevalence per thousand inhabitants, the total number of individuals treated during that five-year period was used as the denominator. To calculate the prevalence ratio (PR), the prevalence of HZ infection in individuals with each comorbidity was taken as the numerator, over the prevalence in individuals of the same gender and age group without that same comorbidity.

RESULTS: The unadjusted prevalence of HZ infection per 1000 adults was 7.15 (7.87 in women, 6.30 in men). In those aged 65 and older, the prevalence was 12.63 per 1000 (13.57 in women, 11.46 in men). In the adult general population, one in 127 women and one in 159 men will suffer an HZ infection, with the risk increasing to one in 64 in women and one in 87 men in those over 65-years-of-age. Overall, and all conditions combined, the risk increases three-fold if the patient has any of the conditions considered in this study.

CONCLUSIONS: We found a higher prevalence of HZ infection in all the diseases studied. This information should be considered by decision makers to improve the prevention of HZ infection.