Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of 316 hepatitis C virus (HCV) chronically infected patients according to alanine aminotransferase (ALT) values
| Normal ALT | Abnormal ALT | ||
| Group 1 (n=83) | Group 2 (n=233) | p Value | |
| Females (F/M ratio) | 47 (0.57) | 106 (0.45) | 0.08 |
| Age at time of study (y) (mean (SD)) | 44.5 (11.9) | 47.3 (14.4) | 0.20 |
| Estimated duration of infection (y) (mean (SD))* | 19.5 (7.5) | 12.6 (6.6) | <0.001 |
| Fortuitous diagnosis (blood donation) (%) | 5 (6) | 9 (4) | 0.53 |
| Mode of contamination | |||
| Drug usage (%) | 25 (30) | 61 (26) | |
| Transfusion (%) | 25 (30) | 86 (37) | 0.61† |
| Others (%) | 33 (40) | 86 (37) |
*Number of patients with a known blood risk factor for HCV contamination: group 1=50/83 (60.2%); group 2=147/233 (63%).
†p value relates to the difference between the three modes of contamination.