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Home  Senior Living Hepatitis C and Diabetes Connection
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Hepatitis C and Diabetes Connection |
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Wednesday, 31 May 2006 |
A recent report in Diabetes Care states that patients who are 40 years and older with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection have three times the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in comparison with others of the same age who are uninfected.
Dr. Rafael Simo of Hospital Vall d’Hebron in Barcelona, Spain and his colleagues reviewed evidence concerning the association between HCV
infection and diabetes. There was a higher prevalence of HCV antibodies among patients with type 2 diabetes than among nondiabetic patients in all studies containing a control group. This did not hold true for patients with type 1 diabetes.
According to Dr. Simo, HCV is a diabetogenic agent that strongly predisposes infected patients to type 2 diabetes by increasing insulin resistance. Furthermore, his group’s recent studies indicate successful treatment of HCV infection may prevent the subsequent development of type 2 diabetes. He advised that screenings for diabetes and pre-diabetic conditions should be done at least once every three years.
Dr. Simo adds that the clear association between HCV infection and the development of diabetes may be a clue to the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes, since HCV is a very prevalent disease that affects about three percent of the world’s population.
The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III)’s data confirms the three-fold increased risk of type 2 diabetes in patients infected with HCV and at least 40 years old. Again, no association was found between HCV infection and type 1 diabetes.
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