title: Psychiatric comorbidity among hepatitis C-positive patients.
abstract: This study assessed the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among hepatitis C patients at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Medical records of 306 randomly selected hepatitis C-positive patients were reviewed for past and present DSM-IV-based psychiatric disorders. Each psychiatric diagnosis was independently confirmed with DSM-IV criteria using symptoms recorded in the chart. Only independently confirmed diagnoses were included for analysis. Mood disorders were present in 38% of patients; personality disorders in 30%; PTSD in 19%; other anxiety disorders in 9%; and psychotic disorders in 17%. Although alcohol use disorders were found in 86% of this patient population, intravenous drug use disorders were present in only 28%. Our data indicate that prevalence rates of a variety of psychiatric disorders are higher in veterans with hepatitis C than in the general population. Mood, anxiety, personality, and psychotic disorders were all relatively common in these patients. Psychiatric disorders may influence the course and treatment of hepatitis C infection, and psychiatrists as well as internists should be aware of the substantial psychiatric comorbidity in patients with this infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Virginia/Roanoke-Salem Psychiatric Medicine Program, Salem, VA, USA.
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Yovtcheva
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rifai
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Moles
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Van der Linden
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015897:Comorbidity; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000821:virology; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006787:Hospitals, Veterans; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies