title: Hepatitis C virus seroprevalence in the general female population from 8 countries.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a significant global health issue because it is widespread and persistent and can cause serious liver diseases.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to estimate HCV prevalence in women from the general population in different geographical areas worldwide and to assess the potential role of sexual behaviour in the virus transmission.
  
  
  METHODS
  Each participating centre recruited a random sample of women from the general population aged from less than 20 to more than 75 years. The study included 8130 women from 8 countries with information on sociodemographic factors, reproductive and sexual behaviour, smoking habit and HPV DNA through individual interviews. A blood sample was also collected to perform serological tests. We estimated the prevalence ratios associated to HCV to evaluate the effect of sexual behaviour in viral transmission.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women were reactive to a minimum of two HCV antigens, including at least one non structural protein were considered as positive (33% of the samples were classified as positive, 40% as negative, and 27% as indeterminate (N=402), that were considered as not positive). The age-adjusted HCV seroprevalence varied significantly by regions (0.3% in Argentina to 21.1% in Nigeria). We found no association between HCV prevalence and age, educational level, smoking habit and any of the available variables for sexual behaviour and reproductive history.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This large study showed heterogeneous distribution of HCV seroprevalence in female and provides evidence of the null impact of sexual behaviour in HCV transmission.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Infections and Cancer (UNIC), IDIBELL, Institut Català d'Oncologia, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Paloma
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Quesada
authors.affiliation: Viral Oncology Section, AIDS and Cancer Virus Program, Leidos Biomedical Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Whitby
authors.affiliation: Unit of Infections and Cancer (UNIC), IDIBELL, Institut Català d'Oncologia, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Yolanda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Benavente
authors.affiliation: Viral Oncology Section, AIDS and Cancer Virus Program, Leidos Biomedical Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Wendell
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Miley
authors.affiliation: Viral Oncology Section, AIDS and Cancer Virus Program, Leidos Biomedical Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Nazzarena
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Labo
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Prince of Songkla University, Hat-Yai, Songkhla, Thailand.
authors.forename: Saibua
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chichareon
authors.affiliation: Neonatology Department, Hung Vuong Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Nguyen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Trong
authors.affiliation: International Agency for Research in Cancer, Lyon, France; National Cancer Centre, Goyang, Republic of Korea; WHO Western Pacific Regional Office, Noncommunicable disease and health promotion, Manila, Philippines.
authors.forename: Hai-Rim
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Neonatology Department, Hung Vuong Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Pham Thi Hoang
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Anh
authors.affiliation: Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Louisiana, United States.
authors.forename: Jaiyeola
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Oncologia Angel H. Roffo, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Matos
authors.affiliation: International Agency for Research in Cancer, Lyon, France; Proyecto Epidemiológico Guanacaste, Fundación INCIENSA, San José, Costa Rica.
authors.forename: Rolando
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Herrero
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, Bogota, Colombia.
authors.forename: Nubia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Muñoz
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, Bogota, Colombia.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Molano
authors.affiliation: International Agency for Research in Cancer, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Franceschi
authors.affiliation: Unit of Infections and Cancer (UNIC), IDIBELL, Institut Català d'Oncologia, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: s.sanjose@iconcologia.net.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: de Sanjosé
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D014943:Global Health; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D018936:Hepatitis C Antigens / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D015229:Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D018936:Hepatitis C Antigens
keywords: Hepatitis C virus; Seroprevalence; Sexual behaviour