Table 1.
Clinical characteristics according to hepatitis C status. Results are mean values (95% confidence interval)* unless otherwise specified1.
| HCV− (n=98) | HCV+ (n=36) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (y) | 47 (46–49) | 52 (50–54) | 0.002 |
| Male sex** | 68 (69%) | 27 (75%) | NS |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 29.3 (27.7–30.9) | 28.2 (25.8–30.6) | NS |
| Alcohol intake (g per kg/day) | 0.5 (0.3–0.7) | 1.0 (0.5–1.4) | NS |
| Iron intake (g per kg/day) | 0.3 (0.3–0.4) | 0.3 (0.2–0.4) | NS |
| Hemoglobin (g/dl) | 14.1 (13.9–14.3) | 13.9 (13.5–14.3) | NS* |
| MCV (fl) | 89 (87–91) | 90 (89–92) | NS* |
| Lymphocyte count (1000/µl) | 1.9 (1.8–2.1) | 2.2 (2.0–2.5) | 0.051* |
| White blood cell (1000/µl)1 | 5.7 (5.2–5.9) | 5.7 (4.9–6.3) | NS* |
| Granulocytes (1000/µl)1 | 3.0 (2.7–3.3) | 3.0 (2.5–3.5) | NS* |
| Basophils (1000/µl) | 0.04 (0.01–0.07) | 0.02 (0–0.07) | NS* |
| Monocytes (1000/µl) | 0.44 (0.41–0.48) | 0.43 (0.38–0.49) | NS* |
| Eosinophils (1000/µl) | 0.12 (0.10–0.15) | 0.08 (0.04–0.12) | NS* |
| Platelets (1000/µl) | 257 (242–273) | 248 (224–275) | NS* |
| Haptoglobin (mg/dl) | 141 (127–156) | 139 (113–165) | NS* |
| AST (units/l) | 24 (23–26) | 38 (33–45) | <0.0001* |
| ALT (units/l) | 22 (20–24) | 38 (32–46) | <0.0001* |
| GGT (U/l) | 30 (26–34) | 58 (43–83) | <0.0001* |
| Bilirubin (mg/dl) | 0.7 (0.7–0.8) | 0.7 (0.6–0.8) | NS* |
| Alakiline Phosphatase (units/l) | 69 (66–76) | 83 (69–89) | NS* |
| Total protein (g/dl) | 7.2 (7.1–7.3) | 7.5 (7.2–7.6) | 0.030* |
| Albumin (g/dl) | 4.0 (3.9–4.1) | 3.8 (3.7–4.0) | 0.043* |
| Globulin (g/dl) | 3.1 (3.0–3.2) | 3.5 (3.3–3.7) | 0.003* |
| Ferritin (µg/l) | 89 (74–108) | 108 (77–150) | NS* |
| Ferritin/AST ratio | 3.4 (2.8–4.1) | 2.5 (1.8–3.4) | NS* |
| Serum iron (µg/dl) | 79 (72–86) | 89 (76–105) | NS* |
| Transferrin (mg/dl) | 247 (240–255) | 262 (250–276) | 0.028* |
| Transferrin Saturation | 25 (23–28) | 25 (22–30) | NS* |
| C-reactive protein (mg/l) | 2.4 (1.9–3.2) | 1.3 (0.9–2.1) | 0.026* |
| Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (mm/hr) |
17 (14–21) | 19 (13–26) | NS* |
| Hepatitis B surface antigen, no.(%) | 1 (1%) | 0 (0%) | NS |
*
Mean (95% CI of mean) and p value were adjusted for sex, age and alcohol intake per kg/day.
**
Number (%)
1
Six cases with HIV/AIDS, of which three were HCV positive, one case with prior HCV treatment and two cases with outlier calorie intake were excluded from analysis. After adjusting for all other variables, alcohol intake correlated negatively with C-reactive protein (beta=−0.21, p = 0.015) and positively with transferrin (beta= 0.02, p = 0.022) and serum iron (beta = 0.06, p = 0.041).