Risk factors for hepatitis C virus infection in individuals infected with the HIV.
BACKGROUND
Except for injecting drug use, other routes of transmission for hepatitis C virus among HIV-AIDS patients have not been consistently described, and risk estimates are often not adjusted for confounding factors.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate characteristics associated with hepatitis C virus infection in individuals infected with the HIV.


METHODS
Cases were patients co-infected by HIV and hepatitis C virus, and controls were infected only by HIV.


METHODS
Cases and controls were consecutively enrolled at a public health care outpatient HIV-AIDS reference centre in Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil.


RESULTS
A total of 227 cases (63% men; 40.3+/-8.7 years) and 370 controls (44.6% men; 38.9+/-9.8 years) were enrolled in the study. In a multiple logistic regression model, male gender (odds ratio 1.9; 95% confidence interval 1.3-2.7), age between 30 and 49 years (odds ratio 2.1; 95% confidence interval 1.2-3.7), elementary school education (odds ratio 4.2; 95% confidence interval 1.9-9.6), lower family income (odds ratio 1.7; 95% confidence interval 1.1-2.7), sharing personal hygiene objects (odds ratio 2.0; 95% confidence interval 1.3-3.3), using injected drugs (odds ratio 21.6; 95% confidence interval 10.8-43.0) and crack cocaine (odds ratio 2.8; 95% confidence interval 1.1-6.9) were independently associated with co-infection by hepatitis C virus.


CONCLUSIONS
These results confirm the risk profile for hepatitis C virus-HIV infection and suggest that sharing personal hygiene objects might explain the transmission of virus C to those not infected by the usual routes, which may be of relevance for developing preventive strategies.
Wolff
F H
FH
Post-Graduate Program in Medical Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. fhwolff@terra.com.br
Fuchs
S C
SC
Barcellos
N T
NT
Falavigna
M
M
Cohen
M
M
Brandão
A B M
AB
Fuchs
F D
FD
D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors