Hepatitis C virus associated with higher comorbidity and multimorbidity

Patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) have a higher prevalence of comorbidities and multimorbidity compared with the general population, according to a study published in BMC Infectious Diseases. In this retrospective cohort study, researchers used a validated algorithm to determine the prevalence of HCV comorbidities using patient data from the Ottawa hospital viral hepatitis program linked to administrative data from IC/ES (formerly Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences) as of April 1, 2017. Adults aged ≥18 years with HCV (n=1209) were compared with age- and sex-matched Ottawa-area residents (n=6045). Comorbidities included acute myocardial infarction, asthma, congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), dementia, diabetes, hypertension, HIV, and rheumatoid arthritis. In patients with HCV, the prevalence was significantly higher for asthma (prevalence ratio [PR] 1.32; 95% CI, 1.06-1.64), any cancer (PR 1.76; 95% CI, 1.22-2.55), COPD (PR 2.42; 95% CI, 1.73-3.39), diabetes (PR 1.32; 95% CI, 1.06-1.64), and renal failure (PR 2.92; 95%...