title: Hepatitis C virus in Mexican Americans: a population-based study reveals relatively high prevalence and negative association with diabetes.
abstract: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and risk factors for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Mexican Americans living in South Texas. We tested plasma for the presence of HCV antibody from the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort (CCHC), a randomized, population-based cohort in an economically disadvantaged Mexican American community on the United States/Mexico border with high rates of chronic disease. A weighted prevalence of HCV antibody of 2·3% [n = 1131, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·2-3·4] was found. Participants with diabetes had low rates of HCV antibody (0·4%, 95% CI 0·0-0·9) and logistic regression revealed a statistically significant negative association between HCV and diabetes (OR 0·20, 95% CI 0·05-0·77) after adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical factors. This conflicts with reported positive associations of diabetes and HCV infection. No classic risk factors were identified, but important differences between genders emerged in analysis. This population-based study of HCV in Mexican Americans suggests that national studies do not adequately describe the epidemiology of HCV in this border community and that unique risk factors may be involved.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health,University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston,Brownsville Regional Campus,Brownsville,TX,USA.
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Watt
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health,University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston,Brownsville Regional Campus,Brownsville,TX,USA.
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Vatcheva
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology,University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center,Houston,TX,USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Beretta
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine,University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School,Houston,TX,USA.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine,University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School,Houston,TX,USA.
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Fallon
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health,University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston,Brownsville Regional Campus,Brownsville,TX,USA.
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: McCormick
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health,University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston,Brownsville Regional Campus,Brownsville,TX,USA.
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Fisher-Hoch
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D060085:Coinfection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies
keywords: Hepatitis C virus; Mexican American; infectious disease epidemiology; prevalence of disease; public health