Heavy alcohol use increases mortality with hepatitis C
to a greater extent in female patients than in males, according to a
report in the February issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental
Research.
"Previous studies indicated that alcohol use is a risk factor for
HCV disease progression, but they seldom examined the effect on women
and men separately," lead author Dr. Chiung Chen, from CSR, Inc. in
Arlington, Virginia, said in a statement. "Even fewer studies were able
to examine the effect of alcohol on HCV mortality. Our study provides
empirical evidence to fill the gap."
The new findings are based on an analysis of 132,468 deaths due to
HCV and/or heavy alcohol use entered in National Center for Health
Statistics databases between 2000 and 2002.
Female hepatitis C patients who were not heavy drinkers died at an
average age of 61.0 years, while those who drank died at 49.1 years. By
contrast, heavy drinking had less effect on lifespan in men, lowering
the average age of death with hepatitis C from 55.1 to 50.0 years.
The findings emphasize that heavy drinking is a key factor that
influences hepatitis C mortality, the researchers state. More
importantly, the study provides the first evidence of a gender
difference in alcohol intake-related hepatitis C mortality.
Further studies are warranted to determine if similar differences in
HCV mortality are seen across racial/ethnic group and to investigate
the possible interactions with HIV coinfection, the researchers
conclude.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2007;31.
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