Serum Hepcidin Levels in Diabetic and Non-diabetic Chronic Hepatitis C Patients and Its Relation with Serum Iron Levels

Abstract

Background and Objective: Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver. Research shows that HCV infection leads to a marked reduction of serum  hepcidin levels which might be a factor in causing systemic iron overload. The present study was aimed to  determine the cause of iron overloadwhich might be due to reduced levels of serum hepcidin in chronic  hepatitis C patients.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Department of Physiology at University of Health Sciences, Lahorefrom January 2012 to January 2014. A total of 54 male patients of chronic hepatitis C were recruited for this study and divided into two groups, group A (CHC with diabetes) and group B (CHC without diabetes). Both groupswere tested for serum hepcidin, serum iron and serum ferritin levels. ELISA technique was used to measure serum hepcidin. Serum ferritin levels were measured via CODA analyzer. Serum iron levels were measured by colorimetric method. Frequencies and percentages were calculated for serum hepcidin, serum iron and serum ferritin levels in group. The data was analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 20.0. Data was considered significant where P-value was ≤ 0.05.Results: Patients in both groups showed less serum hepcidin levelsalong with less serum iron levels in 93% cases of both groups. The patients in group A showed raisedferritin levels in 26% cases and normal ferritin levels in 63% cases. Whereas in group B 04% cases showed raisedferritin levels and 92% patients hadnormal ferritin levels; which could be a marker of ongoing chronic inflammation in CHC patients. Non-significant negative correlation was observed between serum iron and serum hepcidin inCHC population.Conclusion: Hepatitis C virus and decreased serum iron levels in study population may be the reason of less serum hepcidin levels. Raised/normal ferritin reflects chronic inflammation in patients. Non-significant negative correlation between serum iron and serum hepcidin leads the focus towards increasing the sample size in further studies to see any significant negative correlation between studied parameters.