title: A nationwide cohort study suggests that hepatitis C virus infection is associated with increased risk of chronic kidney disease.
abstract: The association of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains widely debated. Here we quantify this association by analysis of data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database and ICD-9 codes to identify 9430 adults with newly diagnosed HCV (years 1999-2006) and randomly selected 37,720 matched non-HCV control individuals. The incidence rate and risk of incident CKD were evaluated through the end of 2010. The frequency of CKD was 1.66-fold higher in the HCV than the non-HCV cohort (5.46 compared with 3.43 per 1000 person-years), and the adjusted hazard ratio remained significant at 1.28 (95% confidence interval, 1.12-1.46). A multivariate analysis was used to determine the influence of HCV on CKD risk with regard to age, gender, follow-up duration, and comorbidities. The risk for CKD in HCV-infected individuals was higher with diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and cirrhosis (8.44; 3.70-19.23), followed by men<50 years (2.32; 1.49-3.61), all individuals<50 years (1.90; 1.33-2.73), men overall (1.44; 1.22-1.71), and individuals followed for ≥6 years (1.35; 1.06-1.71); all with considerable significance. Thus, HCV infection is associated with an increased risk of CKD. Hence, high-risk HCV-infected individuals should be aggressively monitored for development of CKD.
authors.affiliation: 1] Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Buddhist Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan [2] School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yi-Chun
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: 1] School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan [2] Department of Radiation Oncology, Buddhist Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hon-Yi
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: 1] Department and Graduate Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Hung University, Tainan, Taiwan [2] Department of Public Health, College of Public Health, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chung-Yi
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: 1] School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan [2] Department of Radiation Oncology, Buddhist Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Moon-Sing
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: 1] School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan [2] Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Buddhist, Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yu-Chieh
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Su
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D051436:Renal Insufficiency, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult