Table 1.
Baseline patient characteristics
| Variable | Consistent surveillance (n=692) | Inconsistent surveillance (n=313) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 50.2±6.9 | 50.2±7.7 | 0.80 |
| Gender (% male) | 489 (70.7%) | 203 (71.6%) | 0.82 |
| Race | |||
| Caucasian | 500 (72.3%) | 222 (70.9%) | 0.68 |
| Black | 127 (18.4%) | 55 (17.6%) | |
| Hispanic | 49 (7.1%) | 29 (9.3%) | |
| Other | 16 (2.3%) | 7 (2.2%) | |
| Insurance status | |||
| Medicaid | 32 (4.6%) | 16 (5.1%) | 0.56 |
| Medicare | 63 (9.1%) | 28 (8.9%) | |
| HMO | 275 (39.7%) | 134 (42.8%) | |
| Private | 276 (39.9%) | 108 (34.5%) | |
| BMI | 30.0±5.5 | 29.5±5.4 | 0.07 |
| Alcohol history (% ever drank) | 565 (81.8%) | 264 (84.6%) | 0.28 |
| Smoking history (pack years) | 15.0±17.1 | 13.9±15.9 | 0.56 |
| Smoking status (% active smoker) | 191 (27.6%) | 99 (31.6%) | 0.20 |
| Marital status (% married) | 471 (68.2%) | 203 (65.3%) | 0.38 |
| Number of people in household | 2.8±1.3 | 2.9±1.5 | 0.20 |
| Employment status (% full time) | 450 (65.1%) | 210 (67.5%) | 0.47 |
| Education | |||
| Less than high school | 66 (9.6%) | 28 (9.0%) | 0.77 |
| High school graduate/GED | 501 (72.6%) | 221 (71.3%) | |
| College graduate | 123 (17.8%) | 61 (19.7%) | |
| Duration of infection (years) | 28.1±8.1 | 28.3±8.0 | 0.99 |
| Complete clinic visit adherence | 211 (30.5%) | 67 (21.4%) | 0.003 |
| Platelet count (*1000/mm3) | 169.6±67.2 | 154.6±60.7 | 0.001 |
| Platelet count >150,000/mm3 | 403 (58.2%) | 154 (49.2%) | 0.01 |
| AST (U/l) | 86.5±61.5 | 91.1±54.1 | 0.02 |
| ALT (U/l) | 105.5±80.7 | 111.1±72.2 | 0.01 |
| Alkaline phosphatase (U/l) | 98.7±44.6 | 101.5±48.1 | 0.84 |
| Bilirubin (mg/dl) | 0.8±0.4 | 0.8±0.4 | 0.99 |
| Albumin (g/dl) | 3.9±0.4 | 3.9±0.4 | 0.31 |
| INR | 1.0±0.1 | 1.0±0.1 | 0.02 |
| AFP (ng/ml) | 15.9±26.7 | 20.9±34.4 | 0.04 |
| AFP > 20 ng/ml | 118 (17.1%) | 76 (24.3%) | 0.01 |
| Child-Pugh Score | 5.2±0.4 | 5.2±0.5 | 0.27 |
| Stage of disease | |||
| Minimal fibrosis (Ishak 0–2) | 60 (8.7%) | 16 (5.1%) | 0.13 |
| Significant fibrosis (Ishak 3–4) | 356 (51.5%) | 165 (52.7%) | |
| Cirrhosis (Ishak 5–6) | 276 (39.9%) | 132 (42.2%) | |
AFP, alpha-fetoprotein; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate amino-transferase; BMI, body mass index; GED, general educational development; HMO, health maintenance organization; INR, international normalized ratio.