title: Chronic hepatitis C virus infection is associated with more severe asthma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection causes intra- and extra-hepatic complications. The elimination of HCV has been reported to be beneficial for asthmatic patients with HCV infection. Therefore, we hypothesized that chronic HCV infection might be associated with the severity of asthma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Asthmatic patients were prospectively enrolled from 13 outpatient settings. Hepatitis B surface (HBs) antigen and HCV-RNA were measured at the time of enrollment and evaluated along with the clinical characteristics of the patients including the age, sex, duration of asthma, atopic status, smoking history, and treatment step according to the Global Initiative for Asthma guideline.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 1327 asthmatic patients, 1258 patients (94.8%) were treated with inhaled corticosteroids, 18 patients were positive for HBs antigen (1.4%), and 32 patients (2.4%) were positive for HCV-RNA. When compared with HCV-RNA-negative patients, HCV-RNA-positive patients required significantly more drugs for the treatment of asthma. No such relationship was observed in patients with positive HBs antigen. A multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the male sex, a long duration of asthma, status as a current smoker, and HCV-RNA positivity were independently associated with more severe asthma.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that chronic HCV infection is an independent factor that predisposes asthmatic patients to more severe asthma. The evaluation of chronic HCV infection may be helpful for the management of severe asthmatic patients without obvious factors associated with severe asthma.
authors: Department of Molecular and Internal Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Japan.
authors: Taku
authors: T
authors: Nakashima
authors: Akihito
authors: A
authors: Yokoyama
authors: Hiroshi
authors: H
authors: Ohnishi
authors: Masahiro
authors: M
authors: Yamasaki
authors: Masahiro
authors: M
authors: Shiode
authors: Yoshinori
authors: Y
authors: Haruta
authors: Noboru
authors: N
authors: Hattori
authors: Soichiro
authors: S
authors: Hozawa
authors: Hideto
authors: H
authors: Yamakido
authors: Nobuoki
authors: N
authors: Kohno
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001249:Asthma / Q000150:complications* / Q000821:virology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000276:immunology; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000276:immunology; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D012367:RNA, Viral