Retrospective study of the associations between hepatitis C virus infection and metabolic factors

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the hepatitis C virus-infected patients treated with pegylated-interferon α and ribavirin

Variable (normal values)	n1
Age (yr)	119	41 ± 11.3
Sex (men %)		57.1
Birth place (%)
Israel		12.6
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics		77.3
Other (Europe, North America, South Africa, Georgia)		10
Viral load (IU/mL)	114	461.234 ± 251.445
HCV genotype (%)
1		66.4
2		9.2
3		22.7
4		1.7
BMI (19-25 kg/m2)	81	27.0 ± 5.4
Systolic BP (15.99 kPa)	108	15.59 ± 2.26
Diastolic BP (10.66 kPa)	108	9.06 ± 1.56
Serum glucose (70-100 mg/dL)	98	96.96 ± 20.5
Cholesterol (100-200 mg/dL)	117	176 ± 49
Triglycerides (30-150 mg/dL)	90	116 ± 65
HDL (40-60 mg/dL)	74	48.8 ± 12
AST (3-32 IU)	119	51 ± 32
ALT (3-33 IU)	119	77 ± 59
T2DM (diagnosis, fasting blood glucose > 126 mg/dL, or use of anti-diabetic drugs) (%)		9.2
IFG or T2DM (fasting blood glucose > 100 mg/dL) (%)		27.7
Steatosis determined using liver biopsy (n = 85)2
Without steatosis (%)		36
Mild		37.3
Moderate		25.3
Severe		1.3
Steatosis determined using abdominal ultrasound (n = 110; with steatosis) (%)		16.5

Values are reported as mean ± SD or %.

¹Data were not available for some patients due to the retrospective nature of the study;

²Some of the patients refused to undergo liver biopsy. HCV: Hepatitis C virus; BMI: Body mass index; BP: Blood pressure; HDL: High-density lipoprotein; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; T2DM: Type 2 diabetes mellitus; IFG: Impaired fasting glucose.

Table 2 Comparison of baseline characteristics between responders and non-responders to treatment with pegylated-interferon α and ribavirin

Variable	Non-responders	Responders	P value1
Age (yr)	44.62 ± 11.22	39.42 ± 11.14	0.017
BMI (kg/m2)	26.88 ± 5.11	27.34 ± 5.70	0.717
Genotype 3 (%)	2.7	17.4	0.005
Male sex (%)	20.8	35.6	0.736

The values are reported as mean ± SD or percentages.

¹P values determined using independent-samples t-tests. BMI: Body mass index.

Table 3 Unadjusted logistic regression analysis of the association between baseline metabolic components and antiviral treatment response (n = 115)

Variables	Crude OR	95%CI (P value)
BMI > 30 kg/m2	0.825	0.303-2.243 (0.706)
IFG (> 100 mg/dL)	0.609	0.266-1.393 (0.140)
T2DM (diagnosis, fasting blood glucose > 126 mg/dL, or use of anti-diabetic drugs)	1.094	0.301-3.975 (0.892)
High blood pressure (> 16/10.66 kPa)	0.713	0.269-1.889 (0.495)
High triglycerides	1.075	0.338-2.978 (0.889)
High cholesterol and low HDL levels	0.782	0.367-1.666 (0.523)
Presence of any metabolic syndrome components (high cholesterol levels, hyperlipidemia, high BP, or BMI > 30), without T2DM	0.448	0.551-1.301 (0.847)
Metabolic syndrome	0.597	0.141-2.520 (0.483)

The non-responder group is the reference group. OR: Odds ratio; BMI: Body mass index; IFG: Impaired fasting glucose; T2DM: Type 2 diabetes mellitus; HDL: High-density lipoprotein cholesterol; BP: Blood pressure.

Table 4 Univariate analysis of the association between baseline demographic, clinical, and laboratory variables and successful treatment response

Variables	Crude OR	95%CI (P value)
Sex (n = 115)	0.878	0.412-1.873 (0.737)
Mean age (yr) (n = 115)	0.959	0.926-9.93 (0.019)
Birth place (Israel/Union of Soviet Socialist Republics/other) (n = 115)	0.839	0.530-1.329 (0.455)
Current smoker (yes/no) (n = 105)	1.487	0.762-2.901 (0.245)
Alcohol consumption (none/past) (n = 103)	1.133	0.266-4.824 (0.866)
Drug use (none/past user) (n = 106)	1.476	0.550-3.961 (0.439)
Genotype 3 (n = 115) (genotypes 1, 2, and 4 are grouped as the reference)	5.35	1.48-19.3 (0.010)
Liver steatosis determined by biopsy (yes/no) (n = 74)	0.596	0.331-1.079 (0.085)
Liver steatosis determined by ultrasound (yes/no) (n = 107)	0.515	0.181-1.462 (0.213)

Data were not available for some patients due to the retrospective nature of the study. OR: Odds ratio.

Table 5 Unadjusted (model 1) and adjusted (model 2) logistic regression analyses of the association between the response to hepatitis C antiviral treatment and the de novo occurrence of metabolic syndrome components

Variable	Model 1			Model 2
	n	OR	95%CI (P value)	n	OR	95%CI (P value)
T2DM (diagnosis, fasting blood glucose > 126 mg/dL, or use of anti-diabetic drugs)	83	5.07	1.261-20.494 (0.022)	-
IFG (fasting blood glucose > 100 mg/dL)	83	3.87	1.484-10.154 (0.006)	53	4.71	1.280-17.316 (0.020)
Hypertriglyceridemia (triglycerides > 150 mg/dL)	96	0.27	0.069-0.967 (0.044)	-
Low HDL levels	54	0.70	0.188-2.607 (0.595)	39	1.5241	0.185-12.588 (0.695)
Men: HDL ≤ 35 mg/dL						-
Women: HDL ≤ 39 mg/dL
Obesity (BMI > 30 kg/m2)	96	1.12	0.178-7.030 (0.91)	96	0.782	0.115-5.339 (0.80)
Hypertension (defined by WHO)	95	1.176	0.379-3.626 (0.782)	62	1.921	0.246-5.636 (0.458)
Hepatic steatosis determined by ultrasound	90	2.66	0.929-7.636 (0.068)	64	2.1511	0.555-8.33 (0.268)

¹Adjusted for sex, age, and BMI;

²Adjusted for sex, age, and genotype. The responders group is the reference group for all the dependent variables. Multivariable analysis could not be conducted owing to the small number of responders with de novo DM (n = 3) or small number of non-responders with hypertriglyceridemia (n = 3). OR: Odds ratio; BMI: Body mass index; IFG: Impaired fasting glucose; T2DM: Type 2 diabetes mellitus; HDL: High-density lipoprotein cholesterol; WHO: World Health Organization; DM: Diabetes mellitus.