This Painful Disease Once Seen as an Older Person's Problem Is Rising Among Millennial Women
Shingles cases are rising among younger adults, particularly millennial women, challenging the traditional view that the virus only affects the elderly. Researchers suggest that underlying health conditions and stress may be contributing factors to this trend.
Why it matters
Increased awareness of shingles in younger demographics is critical for early diagnosis and effective treatment to prevent long-term complications like postherpetic neuralgia.
Shingles cases appear to be climbing among younger and middle-aged adults, with millennial women emerging as a group that may face a particularly elevated risk of the painful viral infection.The trend is challenging the long-held perception that shingles is primarily an illness of older adults. Recent research has found that shingles cases among people ages 30 to 49 more than doubled between 1998 and 2017 in the United States, while newer research suggests that certain health conditions may put adults in their 30s at risk comparable to that of some older people.The Royal College of General Practitioners Research and Surveillance Centre has also reported that shingles activity in the United Kingdom is currently above the five-year average.
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