ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Hematology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1651614
This article is part of the Research TopicFive Years of COVID-19 - Progress in Translational Research so farView all articles
Risk of Hematologic Malignancies Following Herpes Zoster After COVID-19: A Global Cohort Study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei, Taiwan
- 2Fu Jen Catholic University Hospital, New Taipei, Taiwan
- 3Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
- 4Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital, Taipei City, Taiwan
- 5Taoyuan Armed Forces General Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan
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Herpes zoster (HZ) has been observed as a potential post-viral complication in individuals recovering from COVID-19, possibly linked to virus-induced immune dysregulation. This study aimed to investigate whether HZ occurring after COVID-19 is associated with an elevated risk of hematologic or infectious complications. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the TriNetX global research network, which aggregates de-identified electronic health records from over 140 healthcare institutions. Adults diagnosed with COVID-19 between January 2020 and January 2022 were stratified by the presence or absence of HZ within one year of infection and matched 1:1 by age, sex, and comorbidities. Outcomes including leukopenia, urinary tract infection, multiple myeloma, and acute leukemia were evaluated over a three-year follow-up using time-to-event and multivariable Cox regression analyses. Individuals with post-COVID HZ had significantly higher risks of developing these complications, and subgroup analyses identified older age, impaired kidney function, elevated inflammatory markers, and metabolic abnormalities as factors associated with greater risk. These findings suggest that HZ following COVID-19 may serve as a clinical indicator of immune vulnerability and heightened susceptibility to hematologic and infectious disorders, warranting long-term monitoring in high-risk populations.
Keywords: Acute leukemia, COVID-19 survivors, Herpes Zoster, Leukopenia, Multiple Myeloma
Received: 22 Jun 2025; Accepted: 03 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lu, Wang, Ho, Wu and Lu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Kuo-Cheng Lu, Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital, Taipei City, Taiwan
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