HEPATITIS-C VIRUS-INFECTION AMONG PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LIVER-DISEASE IN AN AREA HYPERENDEMIC FOR HEPATITIS-B

Background: The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection was assessed in patients with nonalcoholic chronic liver disease (CLD). Methods: Antibody levels to HCV (anti-HCV) were assessed in 100 pairs of CLD patients and healthy controls. Results: The prevalence of anti-HCV was higher in patients (26.0%) than in controls (2.0%;p = 0.0001). The patient group with anti-HCV was older (p = 0.0001) and had more smokers (p = 0.034), fewer hepatitis B surface antigen carriers (p = 0.0001), and more patients with active liver disease (p = 0.023) and a history of blood transfusion (p = 0.026). Multivariate analysis showed that anti-HCV (odds ratio, 8.1; 95% confidence intervals, 3.7-17.6) was strongly associated with CLD. Conclusions: HCV infection is a risk factor of non-alcoholic CLD, and HCV causes more severe hepatocellular damage than HBV.