Metabolic and cardiovascular risk profiles and hepatitis C virus infection in rural Egypt

Abstract

Background and aim: To investigate the relationship between lipid profiles and diabetes with past and chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among village residents of Egypt. Patients and methods: Fasting lipids and glucose profiles were compared among adults never infected with HCV (negative HCV antibodies), infected in the past (positive HCV antibodies and negative HCV RNA) and chronically infected (positive HCV antibodies and HCV RNA). Results: Of the 765 participants, 456 (59.6%) were female, and median age was 40 (range 25-88) years. Chronic HCV infection was present in 113 (14.8%) and past infection in 67 (8.8%). After adjustment for age and sex, participants with chronic HCV infection had lower plasma low density lipoproteins (LDL) cholesterol and triglyceride levels compared with those never infected (age and sex adjusted differences (95% CI) were 219.0 (226.3 to 211.7) mg/dl and 226.2 (239.0 to 213.3) mg/dl, respectively). In contrast, participants with cleared HCV infection had higher triglyceride levels compared with those never infected (age and sex adjusted difference (95% CI) was +16.0 (0.03 to 31.9) mg/dl). In multivariate analysis, participants with chronic HCV infection were more likely to have diabetes (OR 3.05, 95% CI 1.19 to 7.81) compared with those never infected, independent of LDL cholesterol levels. Conclusion: In conclusion, this community based study has shown that in a single population, chronic HCV infection is associated with glucose intolerance and, despite that, a favourable lipid pattern. An intriguing finding was the high triglyceride levels observed among participants with past infection, suggesting that elevated triglycerides at the time of acute infection may facilitate viral clearance.

Hepatitis C Virus Infection and Its Clearance Alter Circulating Lipids

“…Our findings are consistent with other studies finding low circulating cholesterol and LDL levels in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection (11, 15, 16); our study extends these findings to an American, predominantly genotype 1 cohort, and does so in both a case-control and cohort manner. Our study did not find that pre-treatment lipid levels were predictive of treatment response.…”

Distribution of Copper, Iron, and Zinc in Biological Samples (Scalp Hair, Serum, Blood, and Urine) of Pakistani Viral Hepatitis (A–E) Patients and Controls

“…In our study, high levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, and Ferritin were found in all groups of hepatitis patients whereas significant decreases in hemoglobin and hematocrit were observed in hepatitis patients. The liver is the primary target organ for glucagon action, where it promotes glycogenolysis, gluconeogenesis, and ketogenesis [31]. The availability of serum blood chemistry tests for screening both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients has resulted in a marked increase in the number of abnormal liver chemistry tests that must be interpreted by physicians.…”

Sero-Molecular Epidemiology and Risk Factors of Viral Hepatitis in Urban Yemen

“…The reported HCV prevalence in Yemen is lower to that in surrounding countries in the region. HCV prevalence increased with age, indicating a accumulative pattern and chronicity (Haidar, 2002;Bajubair et al, 2008;Al Dhahry et al, 2003;Marzouk et al, 2007). The appearance of HCV genotype 1a could probably be due to waves of migration from Asia, Europe or North America (Barth et al, 2006).…”