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Dr Sumita Verma and colleagues from Los Angeles assessed whether Hispanics have more advanced Hepatitis C virus-related liver disease than non-Hispanic whites.
The investigative team identified contributory factors.
Liver fibrosis and necroinflammation were assessed by the Ishak scoring system. The team graded hepatic steatosis as 0 to 4.
The investigative team evaluated a total of 232 patients.
Of these, 63 non-Hispanic whites and 169 Hispanic.
Hispanics were older and had a higher prevalence of blood transfusion, obesity, diabetes mellitus, and hepatic steatosis.
The investigators found that Hispanic ethnicity and obesity were independent risk factors for hepatic steatosis.
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| Age at biopsy was an independent predictor of fibrosis |
| American Journal of Gastroenterology |
Compared with non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics also had higher fibrosis stage, necroinflammation grade, and faster fibrosis progression per year.
The team noted that the presence of diabetes mellitus, and grade 1 to 2 hepatic steatosis were independent predictors of fibrosis stage 4.
Alanine aminotranferease and aspartate aminotransferase levels more than 1, and necroinflammation grade were independent predictors of fibrosis.
Age at biopsy, and serum bilirubin were independent predictors of fibrosis stage 4.
Dr Verma's team concluded, “This study confirms that Hispanics have more advanced hepatic fibrosis than non-Hispanic whites.”
“This is related to older age, higher necroinflammation grade, and greater prevalence of hepatic steatosis and diabetes mellitus.”
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