Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Prevalence in Special Populations and Associated Risk Factors: A Report From a Tertiary Hospital

Abstract

BackgroundWith the advent of highly effective anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) drugs, efforts to identify infected cases, high-risk groups, and associated risk factors have become the focus of current control measures.ObjectivesTo determine the prevalence of the HCV antibody among diabetics and patients with lymphoproliferative disorders (LPD) who presented to the outpatient clinics of a university hospital and its associated risk factorsPatients and MethodsConsecutively consenting patients who had been previously diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and LPD at the outpatient department of the Lagos State University teaching hospital were recruited. A case record form was used to extract their demographics and physical examination findings as well as any risk factors for HCV infection; blood was also drawn to run a serological assay for the HCV antibody. All data were collated and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20. Student T-test, Chi square, and logistic regression were some of the inferential statistics used in addition to descriptive statistics.ResultsIn all, 438 patients (405 diabetics and 33 patients with LPD) were recruited. Their ages ranged from 17 - 87 years with a mean + Standard deviation of 59.61 + 11.859 years. The prevalence of hepatitis C among the diabetic subgroup was 0.7%, while the antibody was present in 9.1% of the LPD patients. The occurrence of the HCV antibody was, however, not significantly associated with age, sex, educational level, or marital status (P > 0.05). Having multiple sexual partners was identified as the only significant risk factor for hepatitis C (OR = 9.148; P = 0.017).ConclusionsThis survey suggested that a higher HCV prevalence exists in this population than is currently reported in the general population, and having sex with multiple partners was a risk factor for HCV infection.

Prevalence of serological markers for hepatitis and potential associated factors in patients with diabetes mellitus

“…International studies investigating the prevalence of HCV exposure in patients with DM in an outpatient clinic or hospital found a lower 7 , 24 , 30 , similar 23 , 28 , and higher 8 , 22 , 25 , 27 , 29 prevalence in relation to our results.…”

“…The association of exposure to HBV and a longer time of DM can be interpreted as a cumulative risk of exposure to the virus probably attributed to the disease management since DM does not progress to hepatitis B or C. The association of exposure to HBV and a longer time of DM were reported in Poland 26 , Turkey 28 , and Nigeria 30 . On the other hand, a study carried out in Italy found no association of infection and time of DM 27 .…”

Epidemiological and Clinical Characteristics of Hepatitis C Viral Infections in Tertiary Centres in Sulaimani City / Kurdistan Region of Iraq

“…Conversely, a study was conducted in Nigeria in 2014 reported that the HCV infection was not significantly associated with educational levels [18].…”

Prevalência de marcadores sorológicos para hepatite B e C e potenciais fatores de risco em pacientes com diabetes mellitus de uma Unidade Básica Distrital de Saúde, Ribeirão Preto-SP, 2014

“…Estudos internacionais que investigaram a prevalência exposição ao HCV em pacientes com DM em ambulatório ou hospital, encontraram prevalência de HCV de zero a 36%. Prevalência inferior ao encontrado em nosso estudo (de zero a 2,4%) foram descritas em Gana, Nigéria, EUA, Suécia, Tunísia, Grécia, Arábia Saudita, França e Espanha (SOTIROPOULOS et al, 1999;BALOGUN et al, 2006;CADRANEL et al, 2008;SJÖBERG;WIDELL;VERBAAN, 2008;KAABIA et al, 2009;ESPARZA-MARTÍN et al, 2013;EPHRAIM et al, 2014;BA-ESSA;MOBARAK;AL-DAGHRI, 2016;ONYEKWERE et al 2016;WATT et al, 2016), prevalências semelhantes (de 3,1% a 3,3%) na França e…”

“…Outros estudos relatados na literatura internacional encontraram como variáveis associadas à infecção apenas fatores de risco reconhecidos para hepatite C, tais como, história de transfusão sanguínea, compartilhamento de instrumentos perfuro cortantes, múltiplos parceiros sexuais e alteração nos níveis de enzimas hepáticas (OZYILKAN et al, 1994;SOTIROPOULOS et al, 1999;CHEN at al., 2006;PAROLIN et al, 2006;SOVERINI et al, 2011;GRECA et al, 2012;KORKMAZ et al, 2015;ONYEKWERE et al, 2016;WATT et al, 2016).…”