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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staff
Having had chickenpox
Anyone who has ever had chickenpox can develop shingles. Most adults in the United States had chickenpox when they were children, before the advent of the routine childhood vaccination that now protects against chickenpox.
Age
Shingles is most common in people over the age of 50. The risk increases with age. Some experts estimate that half the people who live to the age of 85 will experience shingles at some point in their lives.
Weakened immune systems
People with weakened immune systems are at higher risk for developing shingles. A weakened immune system can be caused by:
- HIV/AIDS
- Cancer or cancer treatments, such as radiation and chemotherapy
- Prolonged use of steroids, such as prednisone
- Drugs designed to prevent rejection of transplanted organs
- Shingles: Hope through research. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/shingles/detail_shingles.htm. Accessed June 17, 2009.
- Ferri FF. Herpes zoster. In: Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2009. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/143941389-3/853489074/1701/269.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-323-04134-8..50011-2--subchapter24_5768. Accessed June 17, 2009.
- Shingles disease: Questions and answers (herpes zoster). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/shingles/dis-faqs.htm. Accessed June 17, 2009.
- Albrecht MA. Epidemiology and pathogenesis of varicella-zoster virus infection: Herpes zoster. http://uptodate.com/home/index/html. Accessed June 18, 2009.
- AgePage: Shingles. National Institute on Aging. http://www.niapublications.org/agepages/shingles.asp. Accessed June 18, 2009.
- Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine Q&A. Centers for Disease and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/varicella/vac-faqs-gen.htm. Accessed June 18, 2009.
- Herpes zoster vaccine Q&A (Shingles). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/shingles/vac-faqs.htm. Accessed June 18, 2009.
