Is diabetes mellitus a risk factor for HCV infection?
The aim of this study was to investigate whether or not the diabetes mellitus may be considered a risk factor for the HCV infection. The HCV seroprevalence was evaluated in 254 diabetic subjects, whose anamnestic data and risk factors are known, in comparison to 223 first-time blood donors, carefully age- and gender-matched. The statistical analysis showed that the studied groups belonged to the same population (Mann-Whitney U test) and that there were no significant differences between cases and controls as regards HCV prevalence (Yates corrected chi 2 test). The obtained data underline the importance of the control group selection, especially in the studies considering age-related pathologies. The authors disprove type 2 diabetes as a risk factor for the HCV infection and consider that this is a valid hypothesis only when the hepatitis C was unknown and not adequate prevention was used.
Picerno
I
I
Dip. di Igiene, Medicina Preventiva e Sanità Pubblica R. De Blasi, Università degli Studi di Messina. isa.picerno@unime.it
Di Pietro
A
A
Spataro
P
P
Di Benedetto
A
A
Romano
G
G
Scoglio
M E
ME
D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D048909:Diabetes Complications; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
D000914:Antibodies, Viral