Background & Aims
In light of the dramatically changing hepatitis C therapeutic landscape, knowledge
of the current burden of HCV infection in the general population of the United States
is critical.
Methods
The National Health and Nutrition Examination survey collects nationally representative
data on HCV infection in the civilian population of the United States. Data from 2001
to 2010 were combined for this study. HCV testing was completed in 38,025 participants.
Results
The prevalence of anti-HCV in the United Sates decreased from 1.9% (95% CI 1.5%–2.5%)
in 2001–2002 to 1.3% (95% CI 0.9%–1.8%) in 2005–2006, and remained stable up to 2010.
About 67% of all infected persons were positive for HCV RNA, indicating 2.3 million
people with chronic HCV infection, of whom 68% have genotype 1. Seventy percent of
infected persons were born between 1945 and 1965, with prevalence of 3.5% (95% CI
2.2%–4.8%). The stable rate since 2006 is mostly related to prevalent cases and foreign
born persons migrating into US. Other important risk factors include less education
and low economic status. Race, HIV status, number of sexual partners, and blood transfusions
are no longer associated with HCV infection.
Conclusions
As of 2010, approximately 2.3 million persons were chronically infected with Hepatitis
C in the US. Most of those infected are prevalent, rather than incident cases. The
prevalence of HCV was on the decline, but has stabilized since 2006. Future studies
should explore reasons for no decline in HCV prevalence since 2006.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 02, 2013
Accepted:
November 19,
2013
Received in revised form:
November 9,
2013
Received:
July 17,
2013
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
