Significant Decline in HCV-Related Mortality From Liver Cirrhosis and Chronic Liver Disease (2015-2022): A Sentinel...

Reducing mortality attributable to hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a key target in the World Health Organization (WHO) HCV elimination strategy. While liver cancer registration in Taiwan includes hepatitis C antibody (anti-HCV) status, no national registry records viral etiologies for deaths from liver cirrhosis and chronic liver disease (LC/CLD). Therefore, this sentinel study aimed to estimate national trends in HCV-related LC/CLD mortality.

The study period spanned from 2015 to 2022. According to ICD-10 codes K70, K73 and K74, the annual mortality numbers for LC/CLD were extracted from national biostatistics. Using the Chang Gung Research Database (CGRD), cases that died from LC/CLD with available results for both HBsAg and anti-HCV tests were included in the analysis. Based on the proportions of HCV distributions from CGRD, the national viral etiology-specific case numbers were estimated using a direct standardised method.

A total of 35 413 patients died from LC/CLD nationally, with 15 445 of them having medical records in CGRD, and 5940 (16.8%) having results for both HBsAg and anti-HCV tests. The national case number was 4878 in 2015, decreasing to 4107 (-15.8%) in 2022. The proportion of anti-HCV decreased from 25.7% to 16.6% (-36.2%). Direct standardisation showed that the estimated national case number for anti-HCV decreased from 1424 to 811 (-43%).

From 2015 to 2022, Taiwan experienced a 43% decline in HCV-related LC/CLD mortality, supporting progress toward national HCV elimination goals.