title: Hospitalizations and costs associated with hepatitis C and advanced liver disease continue to increase.
abstract: Disease burden models have predicted worsening morbidity of liver disease caused by hepatitis C in the United States. The aim of this study was to determine the trend in hospitalizations caused by hepatitis C and advanced liver disease. We analyzed data for the period 2004-11 from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, the largest nationwide all-payer hospital inpatient care database. Hospitalization rates for hepatitis C per 100,000 people increased significantly from 4.76 in 2004-05 to 13.81 in 2010-11-an increase of 190 percent. Hospitalization rates for advanced liver disease also increased, particularly for hepatorenal syndrome (93 percent) and portal hypertension (62 percent). Hepatitis C was the principal diagnosis for 64,867 hospitalizations in 2010-11, resulting in a total charge of $3.5 billion. We found nationwide trends in increasing morbidity and medical costs for advanced liver disease associated with hepatitis C. Our findings suggest that hepatitis C is a public health problem and has been growing in magnitude in recent years. Stakeholders and policy makers should implement both recommended screenings for people born in the period 1945-65 and more effective treatment for hepatitis C, which have the potential to reverse the rising morbidity and costs of hepatitis C.
authors.affiliation: Fujie Xu (fax1@cdc.gov) is a team leader in the Division of Viral Hepatitis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Fujie
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Xin Tong is a statistician in the Division of Viral Hepatitis, CDC.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: Andrew J. Leidner is a prevention effectiveness fellow in the Division of Viral Hepatitis, CDC.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Leidner
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology; D017721:Hospital Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000191:economics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Cost of Health Care; Hospitals