Chronic hepatitis C in ethnic minority patients evaluated in Los Angeles County.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to compare demographic, clinical, and histological features of hepatitis C in four ethnic groups seen at the Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Hepatitis Clinic.


METHODS
We evaluated 256 patients with chronic hepatitis C, with 132 (52%) receiving a liver biopsy as part of their evaluation. We estimated fibrosis progression in 103 patients with known duration of disease.


RESULTS
Asians (6%) were underrepresented in the hepatitis C cohort, whereas Latinos (51%) were overrepresented, as compared with the entire county population. A history of injection drug use was more frequent in whites (65%) than in African Americans (45%, p = 0.05), Latinos (47%, p = 0.01), or Asians (0%) and more frequent in Latinos (59%) than in Latinas (26%, p = 0.003). Such a gender difference was not found in African Americans or whites. Baseline laboratory values were comparable. The amount of alcohol consumed daily was higher in African Americans than in Asians (p = 0.0001) and whites (p = 0.10). African Americans (0.077 fibrosis stages/yr) and whites (0.084/yr) had significantly lower mean estimated progression of liver fibrosis than Latinos (0.215/yr) with hepatitis C virus infection (ps = 0.03 and 0.02, respectively): this was likely related to their longer estimated duration of disease.


CONCLUSIONS
Minorities represent the majority of chronic hepatitis C cases in the Los Angeles County Hepatitis Clinic. Asians, Latinas, and African Americans are less likely to report injection drug use as a risk factor for hepatitis C virus. Latinos seem to have faster liver fibrosis progression rates than either African Americans or whites.
Bonacini
M
M
Department of Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.
Groshen
M D
MD
Yu
M C
MC
Govindarajan
S
S
Lindsay
K L
KL
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy; D018450:Disease Progression; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D005355:Fibrosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000473:pathology; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D015141:Los Angeles / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D044469:Racial Groups