title: Hepatic steatosis in Iranian patients with chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the frequency and severity of fibrosis, and also the association of various viral and host factors of steatosis in Iranian patients with hepatitis C (CHC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty treatment-naive CHC patients, age 37.6 +/- 11.77 years, were studied. Percutaneous liver biopsy was performed for all patients. Based on pathology reports, patients were divided into two groups: with and without significant steatosis. Hepatitis C virus RNA (HCV-RNA), various viral and host factors, and biochemical findings and genotyping of HCV were compared in the two groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 80 patients, 42 (52.5%) had pathologic evidence of significant steatosis. The mean serum level of cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose, and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase as well as the mean body mass index, viral load, stage of fibrosis and frequency of genotype 3 were significantly higher in the patients with than those without steatosis (p < 0.05). In multivariate analysis, only genotype 3 and viral load had significant association with steatosis. In patients with genotype 3 infection, the mean viral load in those with and without steatosis was 1,623,357 +/- 833,543.46 and 821,262.1 +/- 924,480 copies/ml, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.009). The mean viral load in patients with genotype 1 infection was not significantly different between the two groups. The mean stage of fibrosis was higher in the group that had significant steatosis (p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Steatosis is a common finding in Iranian patients with CHC. Infection with HCV genotype 3 and high viral load in these patients are associated with significant steatosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran. mmminakari@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Minakari
authors.forename: Farzaneh Khadem
authors.initials: FK
authors.lastname: Sameni
authors.forename: Hamid Mohaghegh
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Shalmani
authors.forename: Mahsa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Molaee
authors.forename: Mohammad-Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Zali
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D019562:Viral Load