Seroepidemiology of hepatitis C and its risk factors in Khuzestan Province, South-West of Iran: A case-control study

Table 1 Demographic features and symptoms and signs of liver disease of the patients enrolled into the study

Variable	HCV positive (n = 254)
	n	%
Sex
Male	160	63
Female	94	37
Age group (yr)
< 20	81	32
20-29	82	32.5
30-39	56	22
40-59	26	10
> 60	9	3 .5
Total	254	100
Symptoms
RUQ Pain	142	56
Malaise	93	36.6
Dyspepsia	58	22.8
Signs
Splenomegaly	25	9.8
Jaundice	12	4.7
Hepatomegaly	8	3.1
Elevated serum ALT level	168	66
HIV positive	3	1.2

Table 2 Risk factors possibly associated with HCV-positive in patients group

Variable	HCV-negative (n = 260)		HCV-positive (n = 254)
	n	%	n	%
Risk factor
Blood transfusions	6	2.3	132	52
Intravenous drug use	0	0	37	14.5
Extramarital sexual activities	1	0.4	3	1.2
Tattooing	2	0.8	9	3.5
Surgical procedures	5	1.9	5	2
Dental procedures	8	3.1	12	4
Hemodialysis	0	0	25	10
Receiving wounds at war	0	0	3	1.2
Endoscopy	14	5.4	1	0.4
Unknown	224	86.1	29	11.2
Total	260	100	254	100