US deaths related to hepatitis C virus (HCV) rose 123 percent from 1995 to 2004, according to a new study.
HCV-related deaths and illness were expected to climb as the number of people with long-term infections increases, wrote Dr. Matthew Wise of the University of California-Los Angeles and colleagues. However, data at the population level have been limited due largely to the difficulties in tracing HCV as the cause of death.
In their study, researchers analyzed US Census and multiple-cause-of-death data from 1995 to 2004 and found 56,409 HCV-related deaths during the period. While the mortality rate grew from 1.09 deaths per 100,000 people to 2.44 deaths over the study, researchers said the average annual increases were smaller from 2000 to 2004 than the rates seen from 1995 to 1999.
After peaking in 2002 at 2.57 deaths per 100,000, overall HCV mortality rates have declined. However, rates continue to increase for people ages 55-64. There was a greater increase among men than in women, and in non-Hispanic blacks and Native Americans than in non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics.
The 7,427 HCV-related deaths in 2004 represent 148,611 years of potential life lost, Wise and colleagues estimated.
Chronic HCV remains the leading reason for liver transplants.
The full report, "Changing Trends in Hepatitis C-Related Mortality in the United States, 1995-2004," was published in Hepatology (2008;47(4):1128-1135).
04/10/08
Marked Rise in Hepatitis C-Related Deaths Seen in United States
Source: Reuters; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention