title: Chronic hepatitis C viral infection among SLE patients: the significance of coexistence.
abstract: The association between viral infection and autoimmune diseases is an established phenomenon in medicine. Hepatitis C viral infection is known to have such an association; however, its association with systemic lupus erythematosus has not been studied in a real life study driven from a large national database. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between SLE and chronic hepatitis C viral infection. Patients with SLE were compared with age- and sex-matched controls regarding the proportion chronic HCV infection. Chi-square and t tests were used for univariate analysis, and a logistic regression model was used for multivariate analysis. The study was performed utilizing the medical database of Clalit Health Services in Israel. There was a significant higher proportion of hepatitis C viral infection in SLE patients as compared to controls (1.06 and 0.39%, respectively; p < 0.001). A significant association was also observed among patients of higher socioeconomic status. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, SLE was significantly associated with hepatitis C viral infection (OR = 2.07, 95% CI = 1.46-2.90). To conclude, Patients with SLE have a greater proportion of chronic HCV infection than matched controls.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine 'B', Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, 5262100, Israel.|Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Naim
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mahroum
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine 'B', Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, 5262100, Israel.|Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Ashraf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hejly
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine 'B', Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, 5262100, Israel.|Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Shmuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tiosano
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine 'B', Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, 5262100, Israel.|Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Omer
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Gendelman
authors.affiliation: Chief Physician's Office, Clalit Health Services, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Doron
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Comaneshter
authors.affiliation: Chief Physician's Office, Clalit Health Services, Tel Aviv, Israel.|Siaal Research Center for Family Medicine and Primary Care, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: Arnon D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine 'B', Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, 5262100, Israel. howard.amital@sheba.health.gov.il.|Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. howard.amital@sheba.health.gov.il.
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Amital
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000502:physiology*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Autoimmune disease; Hepatitis C; Infections; SLE