title: Predicting the prevalence of antibody to hepatitis C virus (HCV) in a community by the prevalence of elevated levels of alanine aminotransferase: a method to identify areas endemic for HCV.
abstract: To identify areas endemic for hepatitis C virus (HCV), we attempted to predict the prevalence of antibody to HCV (anti-HCV) in a community by the prevalence of elevated levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT). The results of health examinations of 2,273 women > or = 40 years old in five townships in central Taiwan were analyzed. The overall prevalence of elevated ALT levels was 11.6%. A township (20.3%) and 10 villages were identified as having a high prevalence (17.9-40.0%) of elevated ALT levels. Five communities with variant rates of elevated ALT levels, which ranged from 8.0% to 27.3%, were selected for correlation with the prevalence of anti-HCV among adults (> or = 40 years old). The prevalence of anti-HCV, which ranged from 10.1% to 72.1%, were obtained by community screenings and/or hospital-based studies. The correlation equation used was the prevalence of anti-HCV (%) = 3.33 x (prevalence of elevated ALT levels (%) - 5.7%) (r2 = 0.94, P < 0.01). Using this method, areas endemic for HCV can be identified by determining the community prevalence of elevated ALT levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang-Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan, Republic of China. juten@ms17.hinet.net
authors.forename: Sheng-Nan
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Jing-Houng
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yung-Kuang
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.forename: Hsiu-Lin
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.forename: Tsung-Ming
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Hung-Da
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Tung
authors.forename: Chuan-Mo
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Shinn-Chern
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood*; D002947:Cities; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D000410:Alanine Transaminase