title: Causal relationship between hepatitis C virus core and the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus in a hepatitis C virus hyperendemic area: a pilot study.
abstract: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection may contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, this association at the population level remains unclear. The aim of this pilot study is to examine the relationship between HCV infection and the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus in an HCV hyperendemic area where we conducted health screenings in 1995. After 7 years of follow-up, we evaluated the relative risk of the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus in anti-HCV-inhabitants. Among 71 subjects free of diabetes mellitus in 1995, 7 developed type 2 diabetes mellitus during the 7-year follow-up evaluation. Overall, anti-HCV-positive subjects were nearly 3-fold as likely as anti-HCV-negative subjects to develop diabetes mellitus, but this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.08). After stratification of the anti-HCV-positive group according to serum HCV core titer, a significant increase in the incidence of diabetes was seen in subjects with high titer of HCV core compared to anti-HCV-negative subjects (p=0.02; relative hazard, 5.60; 95% confidence interval, 1.41 to 37.42). In conclusion, HCV infection potentially has a significant role in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus at the population level. Further large-scale studies are needed to confirm these preliminary findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Digestive Disease Information and Research, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume 830-0011, Japan.
authors.forename: Takumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawaguchi
authors.forename: Yumiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nagao
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ide
authors.forename: Masaru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Harada
authors.forename: Ryukichi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kumashiro
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sata
mesh_terms: D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000821:virology*; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005260:Female; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000502:physiology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D005947:Glucose