title: Determinants of the quantity of hepatitis C virus RNA.
abstract: To test the hypothesis that person-to-person variability in blood levels of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA can be explained, the quantity of HCV RNA was assessed in 969 persons who acquired HCV infection in the context of injection drug use. Serum HCV RNA levels ranged from 200,000 to >120 million equivalents/mL (the linear range of the assay). The median log10 HCV RNA level was 0.46 higher in 468 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive persons than in 501 HIV-negative persons (P<.001). In addition, among HIV-negative persons, lower HCV RNA levels were independently associated with younger age (P<.001), ongoing hepatitis B infection (P=.005), and the absence of needle sharing (P=.02). However, >90% of the person-to-person HCV RNA level variability was not explained by these sociodemographic, environmental, and virologic factors. Additional research is necessary to ascertain what determines the level of HCV RNA in blood.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Astemborski
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vlahov
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Strathdee
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Ray
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Galai
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Nolt
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Laeyendecker
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Todd
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000821:virology; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral