Risk Factors -- Shingles

1.Chicken pox (Varicella-Zoster virus)
- anyone who have chicken pox are at risk for shingles later in life

2.Age
- The risk for herpes zoster increases as people age
- The risk for postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is also highest in older people with the infection and increases dramatically after age 50. PHN is persistent pain and is the most feared complication of shingles.

3.Immunosupressed
- People whose immune systems are impaired from diseases, such as AIDS or
childhood cancer, have a higher risk for herpes zoster than those with healthy
immune systems.
- Herpes zoster in people who are HIV positive may be a sign of full-blown AIDS. - -
The current drugs used for HIV, called protease inhibitors, may also increase the
risk for herpes zoster. But drug-associated herpes does not appear to be as
severe as it is in AIDS patients.

4.Cancer
- Cancer places people at risk for herpes zoster. At highest risk are those with
Hodgkin's disease (13% to 15% of these patients develop shingles). About 7%
to 9% of patients with lymphomas, and between 1% and 3% of patients with
other cancers, have herpes zoster.
- Chemotherapy also increases the risk for herpes zoster.

5.Immunosuppressant drugs
- Patients who take certain drugs that suppress the immune system are at risk for
shingles (as well as other infections). They include:
• Azathioprine (Imuran).
• Chlorambucil (Leukeran).
• Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan).
• Cyclosporine (Sandimmune, Neoral).
• Cladribine.
These drugs can be used in patients who have undergone organ transplantation, but they are also often used for severe autoimmune diseases caused by the inflammatory process. Such disorders include rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.


http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/DS/00098.html
http://nihseniorhealth.gov/shingles/causesandriskfactors/08.html
http://adam.about.com/reports/000082_2.htm