Determination of the impact of hepatitis C virus on insulin resistance and arterial stiffness in hemodialysis patients.
OBJECTIVE
It has been shown that Hepatitis C virus (HCV) seropositivity and carotis artery plaque formation are independently correlated in the general population. Insulin resistance is also a risk factor for atherosclerosis. The association between HCV and type 2 diabetes mellitus is known. Determination of the impact of HCV on insulin resistance and arterial stiffness in hemodialysis patients would help to prevent related cardiovascular complications.


METHODS
Thirty-seven HCV(+) and 30 HCV(-) HD patients were enrolled in this study. All patients were non-diabetic. Insulin resistance was assessed by "HOMA-IR." Arterial stiffness was measured by "stiffness index b" and "elastic modulus."


RESULTS
In the HCV(+) group, there were 20 males and 17 females, while the HCV(-) group had 19 males and 11 females. The mean age was 43.4 +/- 16.7 years and 44.5 +/- 16.8 years, respectively. The HOMA-IR was 1.50 in HCV(+) group and 1.31 in HCV(-) group (p > 0.05). Stiffness index b and elastic modulus measurements revealed no difference between groups. In the HCV(+) group, arterial stiffness parameters were correlated with age, white blood cell, thrombocyte, total and LDL cholesterol, uric acid, mean arterial pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and HOMA-IR. There was no association between arterial stiffness and the above-mentioned parameters in the HCV(-) group.


CONCLUSIONS
We found that there was no association of arterial stiffness in HCV(+) patients with insulin resistance. Further studies with larger patient groups and more sensitive methods of detecting HCV are needed. This study is the first in literature on this issue.
Department of Nephrology, Baskent University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey. ulkuadam@yahoo.com
Fatma Ulku
FU
Adam
Dilek
D
Torun
Fatma
F
Yigit
Ruya
R
Ozelsancak
Siren
S
Sezer
Fatma Nurhan
FN
Ozdemir
Mehmet
M
Haberal
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004548:Elasticity; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011336:Probability; D012016:Reference Values; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D014655:Vascular Resistance