title: The burden of viral hepatitis C in Europe:  a propensity analysis of patient outcomes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hepatitis C virus (HCV) affects 170 million patients worldwide and is the leading cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The aim of the current study is to examine the burden of HCV in the European Union (EU) from a patient perspective.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using data from the 2010 EU National Health and Wellness Survey, patients who reported a diagnosis of HCV (n=332) were compared with a propensity-score-matched non-HCV control group (n=332) on measures of quality of life (using the SF-12v2), work productivity, and healthcare resource utilization in the past 6 months. All analyses applied sampling weights to project to the respective country populations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Projected prevalence estimates of HCV were 0.59% in France, 0.44% in Germany, 1.42% in Italy, 0.82% in Spain, and 0.35% in the UK. HCV patients reported significantly lower levels of emotional role limitations (means=66.4 vs. 70.6, P=0.040), physical functioning (means=63.8 vs. 71.9, P=0.001), general health (means=48.3 vs. 54.4, P=0.004), bodily pain (means=64.3 vs. 70.8, P=0.002), and physical component summary scores (means=42.9 vs. 45.3, P=0.002) than the matched controls. Patients with HCV also reported significantly higher levels of presenteeism (means=27.1 vs. 21.0%, P=0.044) and a greater number of physician visits in the past 6 months (means=9.9 vs. 6.7, P<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Using a population-based survey methodology and a propensity-score matching analysis, these results add to the literature by documenting the significant effect that HCV has on a variety of both humanistic and economic outcomes in the EU.
authors.affiliation: Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Health Sciences Practice, Kantar Health, 11 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA. marco.dibonaventura@kantarhealth.com
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: daCosta DiBonaventura
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Jan-Samuel
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Gilbert J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: L'Italien
authors.forename: Benedicte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lescrauwaet
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Langley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D017281:Cost of Illness; D004526:Efficiency; D005062:European Union; D005260:Female; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006306:Health Surveys; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D057216:Propensity Score; D011788:Quality of Life