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Published on: April 30, 2019

Asymptomatic primary biliary cirrhosis is not associated with increased frequency of cardiovascular disease

Iliana Doycheva1, Chaoru Chen, Jen-Jung Pan

  • 1Iliana Doycheva, Department of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, United States.

World Journal of Hepatology
|May 24, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Cardiovascular disease risk is similar in Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (PBC) patients compared to controls. Asymptomatic PBC patients and those with fatigue do not show increased cardiovascular event frequency.

Area of Science:

  • Hepatology
  • Cardiology
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (PBC) is a chronic liver disease.
  • Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a significant concern in chronic conditions.
  • Understanding CVD prevalence in PBC is crucial for patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To estimate the prevalence of cardiovascular events in Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (PBC).
  • To determine if specific patient subgroups within PBC have a higher risk of cardiovascular events.

Main Methods:

  • A case-control study comparing 180 PBC patients with 151 Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infected controls.
  • Review of medical records and statistical analysis.

Main Results:

  • PBC patients were older, leaner, with higher cholesterol levels, and predominantly female compared to controls.
  • Prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease, and stroke was similar between groups.
  • Overall cardiovascular disease prevalence was 10% in PBC cases versus 7% in controls (P=0.3).
  • Cardiovascular events occurred in 4.5% of asymptomatic PBC patients and 13.2% of symptomatic patients (P=0.06).
  • PBC patients with fatigue had a 13.5% event rate versus 6.7% without fatigue (P=0.1).

Conclusions:

  • Asymptomatic PBC patients do not exhibit a higher frequency of cardiovascular disease.
  • Fatigue in PBC patients is not associated with a greater frequency of cardiovascular events.
Abstract

Keywords:
Asymptomatic primary biliary cirrhosisCardiovascular diseaseFatigueHyperlipidemia

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