CHICAGO — Chronic infection with the hepatitis C virus increases the risk of gallbladder disease in men, according to research presented at the annual Digestive Disease Week.
The risk of gallstones and and the risk of undergoing a cholecystectomy are highest in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive Hispanic patients and men aged 60 years or older, reported Luciano Kapelusznik, M.D., a resident at New York University.
Dr. Kapelusznik and senior investigator Edmund Bini, M.D., conducted the study at the Veterans Affairs New York Harbor Healthcare System.
They compared the prevalence of gallbladder disease in 564 men who had positive HCV antibody and RNA tests vs. 163 men who did not have HCV. No significant differences existed in age, race, alcohol use, smoking, or diabetes between groups, Dr. Kapelusznik reported. In the HCV-positive group, the prevalence of both gallstones and prior cholecystectomy as seen with ultrasonography was significantly higher than in the control group of noninfected men. Gallstone prevalence was 21% in men with HCV, compared with 7% in controls; cholecystectomy prevalence was 8% vs. 2% in controls. When the two parameters were combined for an end point of gallbladder disease, the prevalence was also significantly higher in HCV-positive men (29% vs. 9%).
Among HCV-positive men, the risk of gallbladder disease increased significantly with age, from 21% in those younger than 50 years to 45% at age 60 or older. Race also showed significant differences in those with chronic HCV. Hispanics had a 47% risk, non-Hispanic whites 30%, blacks 16%, and other racial groups 16.7%.
The risk of gallbladder disease also rose with increased severity of liver disease, Dr. Kapelusznik told the audience.