Background and objectives: Herpes zoster (HZ) and its most frequent complication, post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), have been shown to considerably impact quality of life (QoL). This has not yet been demonstrated in Japan.
Methods: QoL in HZ and PHN patients was evaluated using the Zoster Brief Pain Inventory (ZBPI), EuroQoL-5 Dimension (EQ-5D), Short-Form 12 version 2.0, and short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire up to 270 days after rash onset as part of a prospective, observational, cohort study conducted in Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan.
Results: This study involved 412 adults ≥ 60 years of age diagnosed with HZ, 38 of whom developed PHN. QoL in daily activity performance and emotional and physical functioning was impaired at Day 0 (rash onset) and almost resolved by Day 90. Although the mean ZBPI worst pain score for HZ patients without PHN improved from 4.1 at Day 0 to 0.1 at Day 90, the score for HZ patients with PHN at Day 90 was comparable to that for HZ patients without PHN at Day 0. While the EQ-5D score in HZ without PHN improved, on average, from 0.755 to 0.949, the score for HZ with PHN was dependent on PHN duration and did not improve until PHN disappearance.
Conclusions: HZ impaired QoL in daily activity performance and emotional and physical functioning. The negative impact on QoL was more prevalent in patients with a longer PHN duration compared with HZ without PHN. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01873365.