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Published on: July 16, 2012

Rates and predictors of hepatitis C virus treatment in HCV-HIV-coinfected subjects

A A Butt1, A C Justice, M Skanderson

  • 1University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, PA 15213, USA. butta@dom.pitt.edu

Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics
|August 16, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment rates are low in veterans coinfected with HIV, with non-treatment linked to age, race, drug use, and psychiatric conditions.

Area of Science:

  • Hepatology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Treatment rates for hepatitis C virus (HCV) in coinfected HIV-HCV subjects remain largely unknown.
  • The influence of comorbidities on HCV treatment rates in this population is not well-defined.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the rates of HCV treatment prescription in HCV-HIV-coinfected veterans.
  • To investigate the impact of comorbidities on HCV treatment rates within this cohort.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized the Veterans Affairs National Patient Care Database (1999-2003) to identify HCV-infected subjects.
  • Extracted demographic, comorbidity, and pharmacy data.
  • Employed logistic regression to compare HCV treatment predictors in monoinfected versus coinfected individuals.

Main Results:

  • Identified 120,507 HCV-infected subjects, with 6,502 coinfected with HIV.
  • Prescription rates for HCV treatment were significantly lower in coinfected subjects (7%) compared to monoinfected subjects (12%).
  • Factors associated with non-treatment in coinfected individuals included older age, Black and Hispanic race, drug use, anemia, and psychiatric disorders (bipolar, major/mild depression).

Conclusions:

  • A limited proportion of HCV-HIV-coinfected veterans receive HCV treatment.
  • Non-treatment is associated with demographic factors (age, minority race), substance use, and mental health conditions.
  • Further research is necessary to understand treatment eligibility and barriers for HCV in coinfected veterans.
Abstract

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