Hep C infection poses global public health threat to reproductive-age women

Both acute hepatitis C (AHC) and hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related cirrhosis incidence were up substantially globally from 1990 to 2019 in reproductive-aged women, according to a study published online April 19 in the Journal of Global Health.

Yanzheng Zou, from the School of Public Health at Nanjing Medical University in China, and colleagues used data from the Global Burden of Disease study to examine the global incidence and temporal trends (1990 to 2019) of AHC and HCV-related cirrhosis among women of reproductive age (15 to 49 years).

The researchers found that during the study period, global incidences of AHC and HCV-related cirrhosis increased by 46.45 percent and 72.74 percent, respectively. In low sociodemographic index regions, the age-standardized incidence rates of AHC were highest, but showed a declining trend, while age-standardized incidence rates of HCV-related cirrhosis showed unfavorable trends in low, low-middle, and high sociodemographic index regions.

High incidence rates or increasing trends of AHC and HCV-related cirrhosis were seen in sub-Saharan Africa, high-income North America, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia.

“Period effects suggested a resurgence in the risk of AHC and HCV-related cirrhosis in recent years, posing further challenges for HCV elimination,” the authors write.

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