The prevalence and risk factors analysis of serum antibody to hepatitis C virus in the elders in northeast Taiwan.
BACKGROUND
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection will result in liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, which are the leading causes of death in Taiwan. The prevalence of antibody to HCV (anti-HCV) was 2%-3% in Taipei city. However, it can be as high as 20% to 60% in Central and Southern part of Taiwan. In I-Lan, a county located in northern-east Taiwan, there is no large-scale investigation yet. The objective of this research is to evaluate the prevelance and risk factors of anti-HCV positivity in three towns of I-Lan county.


METHODS
Blood sampled from people in San-Shing, Tou-Cheng and Tong-Shan was collected from October 1999 to June 2000. Totally, 1,316 persons (607 male, 790 female, mean age: 62 +/- 12 years old) were enrolled. Anti-HCV was measured by a second-generation enzyme immunoassay. Risk factors analysis was performed in anti-HCV positive subjects and age-sex matched anti-HCV negative controls.


RESULTS
Sixty-seven persons (5.1%) had positive serum anti-HCV. The prevalence rate of anti-HCV increased with age. San-Shing and Tong-Shan showed a higher anti-HCV prevalence rate than Tou-Cheng (6.0% and 8.3% vs. 3.2%, p = 0.007). Risk factors analysis showed that people with positive serum anti-HCV had a significantly high rate of surgical history, usage of nondisposable needles injection, frequent nondisposable needles injection, frequent dental therapy, and a lower level of education than the anti-HCV negative counterpart (p < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age > 60 years, surgical history and frequent nondisposable needles injection were significantly independent risk factors of positive anti-HCV (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence rate of anti-HCV in I-Lan county was 5.1%. Age > 60 years, surgical history and frequent nondisposable needles injection were the significant risk factors of HCV infection in I-Lan area.
Lin
Cheng-Ching
CC
Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Hwang
Shinn-Jang
SJ
Chiou
Shu-Ti
ST
Kuan
Chin-Lan
CL
Chen
Luke Wen-Tsuei
LW
Lee
Tai-Chi
TC
Lee
Ming-Bin
MB
Lee
Hsiang-Ho
HH
Hsu
Pi-Shan
PS
Tsai
Shih-Tzu
ST
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000209:etiology* / Q000635:transmission; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009339:Needles; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D065227:Transfusion Reaction
D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies