Prevalence of comorbidity in chronic HCV‑infection

Abstract

The effect of the comorbid background on the course of the infectious process in chronic HCV infection requires study due to the existence of a risk of progression of liver fibrosis even after the eradication of the virus against the background of concomitant diseases.Material and methods. The article analyzes the prevalence of various comorbid conditions in 700 patients with chronic HCV infection, who were observed in the hospital of the Botkin in St. Petersburg, an assessment of the mutual influence of the comorbid background and the progression of liver fibrosis in HCV infection was given. To determine the contribution of comorbidity to the course of HCV infection, the odds ratio (OR) parameters were calculated.Results. HCV-infected individuals have higher prevalence of comorbidity (63 %) and multimorbidity (50 %). In patients with severe fibrosis or cirrhosis, the presence of the comorbidity factor increased to 85 %. In the examined group of patients, diseases of the biliary tract and pancreas prevailed (30.0 %), occult Hepatitis B Infection was revealed in 19.0 %, in 15.4 % – cardiovascular diseases, in 13.7 % – diseases of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Diabetes mellitus was found in 4.6 % of patients, and obesity – in 5.9 %, kidney disease – 3.0 %. The remaining concomitant diseases occurred in less than 2.0 % of the observed patients. It has been established that diseases of the biliary tract and pancreas, gastrointestinal tract, diabetes mellitus, obesity, cardiovascular diseases are risk factors for the development of liver fibrosis in chronic HCV infection.Conclusions. The data obtained indicate the need for a more personalized approach to monitoring patients and the need to create integrated models of medical care for patients with chronic hepatitis C.