title: Association between chronic hepatitis C virus infection and low muscle mass in US adults.
abstract: Given that low muscle mass can lead to worse health outcomes in patients with chronic infections, we assessed whether chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection was associated with low muscle mass among US adults. We performed a cross-sectional study of the National Health Examination and Nutrition Study (1999-2010). Chronic HCV-infected patients had detectable HCV RNA. Low muscle mass was defined as <10th percentile for mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC). Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine adjusted odds ratios (aORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of low muscle mass associated with chronic HCV. Among 18 513 adults, chronic HCV-infected patients (n = 303) had a higher prevalence of low muscle mass than uninfected persons (13.8% vs 6.7%; aOR, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.39-3.56), and this association remained when analyses were repeated among persons without significant liver fibrosis (aOR, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.30-3.47). This study demonstrates that chronic HCV infection is associated with low muscle mass, as assessed by MUAC measurements, even in the absence of advanced liver disease.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gowda
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Compher
authors.forename: V K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Amorosa
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lo Re
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009133:Muscular Atrophy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: NHANES; chronic hepatitis C; low muscle mass; malnutrition