Absence of specific symptoms in chronic hepatitis C

No systematic research has been carried out on the symptoms of chronic hepatitis C, although the disease is believed to induce subjective symptoms such as fatigue or dullness in the legs.

The Todai Health Index has been developed as a symptom checklist that is used for screening particular diseases or for health management. The index was chosen as the most suitable questionnaire for measuring characteristic symptoms of chronic hepatitis C. Sixty patients with chronic hepatitis C who did not have any severe complications were compared with healthy control subjects who were selected randomly from the residents of Isesaki City, Gunma, Japan.

The major findings were as follows: (1) male and female patients with chronic hepatitis C had no characteristic subjective physical symptoms when compared with the healthy controls, except for a significant difference in aggression, and (2) the severity of the hepatitis was not associated with the patients' symptoms after adjusting for age and treatments.

Patients with chronic hepatitis C who did not have any severe complications did not show specific subjective physical symptoms.