A new study reveals that he declining death rate from HIV has been eclipsed by the rising mortality rate associated with hepatitis C infection.

Researchers at the US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC; Atlanta, GA, USA) examined the US national multiple-cause mortality data for 1999-2007--in all about 21.8 million records--for any mention of hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and, for comparison, HIV infection. They then assessed age-adjusted mortality rates, proportions of select sociodemographic characteristics, and potentially preventable comorbidities in HBV and HCV infected decedents in 2007.

The results showed that the HBV-related death rate was almost constant, while deaths associated with HCV increased significantly to a total of 15,106 deaths in 2007; by comparison, HIV deaths declined to 12,734 deaths in 2007. Comorbidities associated with increased odds of HCV-related mortality included chronic liver disease; hepatitis B coinfection; alcohol-related conditions; and HIV coinfection. Of the HCV-related deaths, 73.4% occurred among persons aged 45-64 years; most deaths in HBV-infected persons also occurred in this age group (59.4%). Factors increasing the odds of HBV-related death included Asian/Pacific Islander identity, chronic liver disease, HCV coinfection, HIV coinfection, and alcohol-related conditions. The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, held during November 2011 in San Francisco (CA, USA).

“There has been a rapidly increasing number of deaths among HCV-infected persons, deaths that now surpass those among HIV-infected persons,” concluded lead author Scott Holmberg, MD, and colleagues of the CDC. “The relatively young age of most HCV-infected persons who are dying--i.e., 45-64 years old--portends a large and increasing health care burden.”

Hepatitis C, also known as non-A and non-B hepatitis, is the most common chronic blood-borne infection in the United States and is the leading indication for liver transplants. While 15%-45% of those infected with HCV are able to clear the virus from their blood within about 6 months from the time of infection, the rest do not, and suffer from chronic (long-term) hepatitis C. About 70% of chronically infected persons will develop chronic liver disease, and between 1% and 5% of chronically infected patients may die from chronic liver disease.

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