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Interaction of Alcohol and Hepatitis C Virus Infection on Severity of Liver Disease

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Abstract

Chronic alcoholics have a high prevalence ofhepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The present study wascarried out to examine the association between HCVinfection and alcohol abuse, and the influence of these factors on the severity of liver disease.Patients with history of heavy alcohol abuse (≥80 gof ethanol per day for ≥5 years) were analyzed withrespect to the amount of alcohol use, clinical evidence of liver disease, and laboratory tests. Onehundred ninety-nine patients, 137 HCV positive and 62HCV negative were included in the study. HCV-infectedsubjects had liver disease for a longer duration (P < 0.0001) and had higher incidence ofsymptoms of hepatic decompensation in the past comparedto uninfected alcoholics. Several differences were notedbetween the two groups at the time of presentation to the hospital. Alcoholics with HCV infectionhad lower daily alcohol consumption (P < 0.001), wereabstinent for a longer duration (P < 0.02) and hadlower lifetime use of ethanol (P < 0.005) compared to HCV-negative subjects. Assessmentof liver tests showed greater derangement in uninfectedalcoholics compared to HCV-positive subjects. Thepresent study shows that HCV-infected chronic alcoholics have lower alcohol consumption and, perhaps asa consequence, have less severe liver disease comparedto HCV-negative individuals. These findings suggest thatin chronic alcoholics, despite the presence of HCV infection, the severity of liver damageis related to the amount of alcoholconsumption.

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Authors
  1. Christopher L. Nevins
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  2. Hoda Malaty
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  3. Maria E. Velez
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  4. Bhupinderjit S. Anand
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Nevins, C.L., Malaty, H., Velez, M.E. et al. Interaction of Alcohol and Hepatitis C Virus Infection on Severity of Liver Disease. Dig Dis Sci 44, 1236–1242 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026605130185

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