1. Sero-epidemiologic study of hepatitis C virus infection in Fukuoka, Japan
- Author
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Seiji Noguchi, Kunitaka Fukuizumi, Michiko Sata, Kumi Tanaka, Hiroshi Suzuki, Yohsuke Yamakawa, Hitoshi Nakano, Eisuke Tanaka, Hiroshi Yoshida, and Kyuichi Tanikawa
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,HBsAg ,Hepatitis C virus ,Hepacivirus ,medicine.disease_cause ,Gastroenterology ,Liver disease ,Sex Factors ,Japan ,Seroepidemiologic Studies ,Internal medicine ,Epidemiology ,medicine ,Humans ,Aged ,Aged, 80 and over ,Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ,biology ,business.industry ,Liver Diseases ,Incidence (epidemiology) ,Mortality rate ,Age Factors ,virus diseases ,Hepatitis C Antibodies ,Middle Aged ,Hepatology ,medicine.disease ,Hepatitis C ,digestive system diseases ,Immunology ,biology.protein ,RNA, Viral ,Female ,Antibody ,business - Abstract
We conducted an epidemiological study of 509 residents of H town, Fukuoka, Japan, to investigate the high mortality rate from liver disease. Antibodies to hepatitis C virus (HCV) (anti-HCV) were detected in 120 residents (23.6%); HCV RNA in 91 (17.9%), and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in 13 (2.6%). Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that presence of anti-HCV, male gender, and history of liver disease were associated with the presence of liver dysfunction, and that age of more than 40 years and a particular district were associated with the presence of anti-HCV. HCV RNA was more frequently detected in anti-HCV-positive men than women (41, or 85.4% versus 50, or 69.4%) (P < 0.05). The incidence of liver dysfunction was significantly higher in HCV RNA-positive men than women (32, or 66.7% versus 22, or 30.6%) (P < 0.05). These findings suggest that: (1) HCV was correlated with the high mortality rate from liver diseases, (2) there were district-related differences in the incidence of HCV, and (3) the lower frequency of elimination of HCV from men may explain why they showed a high mortality from liver disease.
- Published
- 1998