Higher Risk for Rheumatoid Arthritis Linked to HSV-II Infection

According to study results published in the Journal of Clinical Rheumatology, there may be a potential link between an increased risk for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and herpes simplex virus II (HSV-II) infection.

Researchers conducted a retrospective case-control study, including patients identified via the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2009 and 2014. They reported on the link between the development of RA and the occurrence of HSV and human papillomavirus (HPV) infections.

The primary study endpoint was the prevalence of HSV-I, HSV-II, and oral and vaginal HPV polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

The final analysis included 8620 patients aged from 20 to 49 years (mean age, 34.47 years; 50.87% women); 150 patients with RA were matched with 1500 patients without RA.

Patients with RA were typically older, more likely to be women, identify as non-Hispanic White ethnicity, had multiple comorbidities, and received more drug treatments than patients without RA.

Among the 8620 patients in the study, 56.83% were positive for HSV-I, 16.99% for HSV-II, 6.70% for HPV oral PCR, and 43.33% for HPV vaginal PCR.

Prior to propensity score matching, patients with RA demonstrated a significantly higher prevalence of HSV-II compared against those without RA (36.07% vs 16.62%; P <.001). This result was further validated following propensity score matching (36.34% vs 24.72%; P =.015).

There were no significant differences in the prevalence of HSV-I, HPV oral PCR, and HPV vaginal PCR between the groups.

The rates of positive HSV-I, HSV-II, and HPV vaginal PCR tests decreased from 2009 to 2010 and from 2013 to 2014.

The study findings may be limited by recall bias due to reliance on participants’ questionnaire responses, as well as the observational study design.

Study authors concluded, “Further research is needed to fully elucidate the relationship

between viral infections and RA, with the aim of developing effective risk reduction strategies and innovative treatments for RA.”

This article originally appeared on Rheumatology Advisor