Sreedhara H. G, Rudramuneswara Swamy B. P, Mahantesh S, Vijayakumara H. G, Nagaraj E. R
AIM: The present study was done to evaluate the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in non-insulin dependent diabetic patients (NIDDM) and to investigate influence of HCV seropositivity on several factors such as age of onset of diabetes, complications and mode of treatment. METHODS: The study is prospective, hospital based case - control study done over a period of 3 years. A total of 428 diabetic patients were compared with 1800 voluntary blood donors for the presence of HCV infection. Serological testing for anti HCV was done by using commercial enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Data about various variables were collected from diabetic patients using a structured questionnaire after taking informed consent. RESULTS: Higher prevalence of HCV (7.71%) infection rate observed in NIDDM patients in comparison with blood donors (1.1%). In our study, HCV seropositivity is highest (11.81%) in 40- 50 years age group followed by (8.57%) 30-40 years age and least (2.43%) in age > 61 years. Mean age of onset of diabetes mellitus (DM) is 39 years in HCV +ve patients in comparison with 46 years in non-reactors. Proportion of seropositive cases among male and female diabetic cases did not show significant difference. Out of 33 HCV seropositive cases, 63.64% managed with insulin and 48.49% oral hypoglycemic drugs with insulin supplement. Ten out of 33 (30.30%) HCV seropositive cases presented with one or more late diabetic complications compared to 78 out of 395 (19.75%) seronegative cases, with diabetic nephropathy being commonest one. CONCLUSION: Although, HCV infection is more common among adults with type 2 diabetes, it is uncertain whether HCV infection precedes the development of diabetes. Hence, there is a need to perform a prospective analysis to investigate, in persons who acquire type 2 diabetes whether they are more likely to have had antecedent HCV infection.
