HCV infection characteristics, treatment uptake and outcomes in patient with diabetes mellitus

BACKGROUND: The interplay between HCV, DM, and DAA therapy is poorly understood. We compared HCV infection characteristics, treatment uptake, and treatment outcomes in patients with and without DM. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from The Ottawa Hospital Viral Hepatitis Program. Statistical comparisons between diabetes and non-diabetes were made using χ(2) and t-tests. Logistic regression analyses were performed to assess predictors of DM and SVR. RESULTS: One thousand five hundred eighty-eight HCV patients were included in this analysis; 9.6% had DM. Patients with DM were older and more likely to have cirrhosis. HCC and chronic renal disease were more prevalent in the DM group. Treatment uptake and SVR were comparable between groups. Regression analysis revealed that age and employment were associated with achieving SVR. Post-SVR HCC was higher in DM group. CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of DM in our HCV cohort supports screening. Further assessment is required to determine if targeted, early DAA treatment reduces DM onset, progression to cirrhosis and HCC risk. Further studies are needed to determine if optimization of glycemic control in this population can lead to improved liver outcomes.