Cirrhosis Is Common and Increasing in Prevalence Among HCV Patients

Cirrhosis is common among patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV), and the prevalence of which has significantly increased over the past decade, according to new research.

The findings will be presented at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Liver Meeting on Monday, November 14, 2016.

Previous research has linked HCV to cirrhosis, decompensated cirrhosis, and death, but little research has identified the prevalence rates among patients with HCV in the United States.
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To conduct their study, researchers assessed 11,169 adults with HCV participating in the Chronic Hepatitis Cohort Study (CHeCS) in 4 health care systems in the United States between 2006 and 2014.

Cirrhosis was identified using liver biopsy, serum markers of liver scarring, and ICD-9 diagnostic codes. ICD-9 codes were also used to predict decompensated cirrhosis rates.

Cirrhosis rates increased from 20.5% in 2006 to 28.5% in 2014. Prevalence of decompensated cirrhosis increased by 2% each year during the study period in the oldest patients (aged over 60 years) but stayed the same among younger patients.

The death rate among patients with decompensated cirrhosis increased from 1.7% in 2006 to 3.2% in 2013. However, the researchers say most of the increase occurred before 2010 and leveled off thereafter.

“The proportion of hepatitis C patients with cirrhosis and its complications has grown significantly in the past decade, particularly among those over 60,” the researchers conclude.

“The present analysis confirms the rising burden of chronic hepatitis C infection, and its complications, on the US health care system. These rising rates may have leveled off in recent years, however, possibly related to better options for treating HCV infection. Future studies will help determine whether increased uptake of these newer medications can help stem the tide of HCV disease progression.”

—Amanda Balbi

Reference:

Large study identifies increase of cirrhosis in hepatitis C patients [news release]. Boston, MA: American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. http://www.aasld.org/events-professional-development/liver-meeting/press/large-study-identifies-increase-cirrhosis-hepatitis-c-patients. Accessed November 11, 2016.