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Published on: October 29, 2015
Cardioprotective effect of antiviral therapy among hepatitis C infected patients: A meta-analysis
Vikash Jaiswal1,2, Song Peng Ang3, Muhammad Hanif4
1Department of Research, Larkin Community Hospital, USA.
Insights
Antiviral therapy (AVT) significantly reduces cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in Hepatitis C (HCV) patients. Post-treatment, patients experienced lower rates of CVD, myocardial infarction, and mortality, highlighting AVT
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Public Health
Background:
- Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection is linked to increased atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.
- The impact of antiviral therapy (AVT) on CVD risk in HCV patients remains under-researched.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between AVT use and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with HCV infection.
- To evaluate the efficacy of AVT in mitigating CVD and related mortality in the HCV population.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature review of PubMed, Embase, and Scopos databases up to March 2023.
- Inclusion of studies reporting primary outcomes (any CVD) and secondary outcomes (all-cause mortality, stroke, myocardial infarction, peripheral artery disease).
- Meta-analysis of data from 394,452 patients (111,076 in AVT group, 283,376 in non-AVT group).
Main Results:
- AVT use was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of any CVD (HR: 0.55, P < 0.001).
- Significant reductions were observed for all-cause mortality (HR: 0.38, P < 0.001), myocardial infarction (HR: 0.62, P = 0.02), and peripheral artery disease (HR: 0.62, P = 0.02).
- No significant difference in stroke risk was found between AVT and non-AVT groups (HR: 0.79, P = 0.13).
Conclusions:
- HCV patients treated with AVT demonstrate a substantially lower risk of major adverse cardiovascular events, including CVD, MI, and PAD.
- AVT is associated with improved survival rates in HCV-infected individuals.
- The findings support the use of AVT as a strategy to reduce cardiovascular burden in HCV patients.
Background:
Hepatitis C (HCV) infections have been shown to be associated a with higher risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the use of antiviral therapy (AVT) and the risk of CVD has not been well established with limited literature.
Objective:
We sought to evaluate the association between AVT use post-HCV infection and cardiovascular outcomes.
Methods:
We performed a systematic literature search using PubMed, Embase, and Scopus for relevant articles from inception until 10th March 2023. Primary clinical outcomes were the incidence of any CVD. Secondary endpoints were all-cause of mortality, stroke, myocardial infarction, and peripheral artery disease.
Results:
A total of 394,452 patients were included in the analysis (111,076 in the AVT group and 283,376 patients in the NAVT group). The mean age of patients among AVT and NAVT groups was comparable (58.7 vs 58.18). The pooled analysis of primary outcomes showed that AVT was associated with a significantly reduced risk of any CVD (HR, 0.55(95%CI: 0.41-0.75), P < 0.001) compared with the NAVT group of patients. Secondary outcomes including ACM (HR, 0.38(95%CI: 0.32-0.46), P < 0.001), MI (HR, 0.62(95%CI: 0.41-0.94), P = 0.02), and PAD (HR, 0.62(95%CI: 0.41-0.93), P = 0.02) were significantly lower among AVT groups compared with NAVT groups of patients with HCV infection. However, the risk of stroke was comparable between both groups of patients (HR, 0.79(95%CI: 0.58-1.07), P = 0.13).
Conclusion:
Our analysis shows HCV-infected patients post-AVT have a significantly lower risk of any CVD, MI, ACM, and PAD compared with NAVT groups of patients.
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