2023-08-03 21:09:08
Thumbs up: Prognosis for hepatitis C is often difficult. Photo: Sam Williams
Hepatitis C: Mortality high even after healing
Glasgow, Vancouver, PTE, 3. August 2023
Those cured of hepatitis C still have a significantly higher risk of death than the general population. This risk can be anywhere from three to 14 times greater, depending on the stage of liver disease, according to an international study led by Glasgow Caledonian University and the British Columbia Center for Disease Control. Based on data from more than 20,000 healed sufferers, drug-related deaths and liver-related deaths are the most common.
Data from 21,790 people
According to the researchers, healthy patients must continue to be cared for so that they can really enjoy the benefits of successful treatment. Hepatitis C is a virus that can infect the liver and, if left untreated, can have serious and potentially life-threatening consequences. It was not until 2011 that a new type of medication was developed with »Direct Acting Antivirals«. Today, more than 95 percent of the treated patients achieve a virological cure and thus have a significantly lower risk of death than infected people who are not treated.
For the current study, the researchers examined 3 population studies conducted in British Columbia (Canada), Scotland and England. In total, there were 21,790 participants who had been cured of hepatitis C between 2014 and 2019. Patients were divided into three groups according to the severity of their disease at the time of healing: pre-cirrhotic disease (British Columbia and Scotland studies only), compensated cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease.
Drugs, liver failure, liver cancer
The next step was to correlate the data with national medical registries and multiple causes of death. These include liver cancer, liver failure, drug-related causes of death, external causes – primarily accidents, homicides and suicides – and diseases of the circulatory system. The follow-up period was between two and four years. Most participants did not have cirrhosis at the time of healing. With 65 to 75 percent, the male patients outperformed the women in all studies and degrees of severity of the disease.
A total of 1,572 people, seven percent of the participants died during follow-up. The leading causes of death were drug-related in 24 percent of cases, liver failure in 18 percent and liver cancer in 16 percent. Overall, older age, recent drug use, alcohol use, and pre-existing comorbidities were associated with a higher number of deaths. Details were published in The BMJ.]
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