The Screening of Diabetes, Obesity, and Hypertension Risks Associated with Hepatitis C Within the Egyptian Population in a Community Pharmacy Setting

Abstract
Background: Diabetes and hypertension have been identified as risk factors for HCV complications in previous studies. This has sparked the interest in the field of prevention by identifying at-risk individuals and increasing investments for screening among pharmacists. The aim of this study was to screen for risk factors, including age, gender, BMI, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity, in Egyptian patients with HCV. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out from September 2018 to February 2019, with a total of 1,959 medical records collected. By comparing the patients’ characteristics, variables related to metabolic risk, and body composition measurements, regression models have been established to determine any confounding factors. Results: The prevalence of HCV antibody was 41.0% in men and 59.0% in women. Among the variables included in the regression analysis, age, BMI, and uncontrolled hypertension were found to have statistically significant associations with diabetes in HCV positive cases (p < 0.001). HCV patients ? 40 years old with high BMI were found to have significant associations with both, diabetes and hypertension (p < 0.001). Hypertensive HCV patients were found to have significant associations with gender, age ? 40, and DM (p < 0.001). Conclusion: HCV infection and metabolic disorders have a closed cycle relationship. Reducing the complications of DM has a promising prospective of limiting the complications of HCV.