Sustained virological response and metabolic risk factors are associated with mortality in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Abstract

Background and aimPrevious studies have reported that sustained virological response (SVR) to interferon-based treatment reduces the risk of mortality in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients, mainly in cirrhotic patients. A population-based study reported that metabolic risk factors increase the risk of mortality in CHC patients. We aim to investigate the association between SVR, metabolic risk factors and mortality in CHC patients with and without advanced fibrosis.MethodsWe collected data from 1452 CHC patients who underwent interferon-based therapy. All patients underwent liver biopsy prior to therapy. Mild fibrosis was defined as a modified Knodell score of 0-2, while advanced fibrosis was defined as a score of 3-4.Results1452 patients were followed up for a median (IQR) of 6.6 (4.2-9.4) years, 1124 patients (77.4%) achieved SVR, 619 patients (42.6%) were advanced fibrosis. 14 patients with mild fibrosis and 55 patients with advanced fibrosis died during follow-up period. According to multivariate Cox regression analyses, SVR reduced the risks of all-cause mortality (HR, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.12-0.37; PConclusionSVR and metabolic risk factors are associated with mortality in CHC patients given interferon-based treatment.