29% of HCV Patients Are Not Receiving Treatment

Active drug and alcohol use is associated with nontreatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) and increased risks for HCV-related morbidity and mortality in African American patients with HCV, according to a recent study.

Although direct-acting antiviral (DAA) use has overcome many long-standing barriers to HCV treatment and outcome disparities associated with interferon regimens, the psychological, racial, and socioeconomic factors associated with DAA treatment have yet to be identified.
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For their study, the researchers assessed 747 patients who had been referred to a single, large, urban tertiary center for HCV evaluation and treatment. A total of 68% of patients were non-Hispanic white, 31% were African American, and 1% were of other ethnicities.

Results indicated that, although most patients had received treatment, 218 (29%) patients did not receive treatment. The researchers found that patients who were African American, who used drugs, who smoked, and who used alcohol were less likely to be treated for HCV, while patients who were older and had insurance were more likely to be treated.

“Though DAAs have eliminated many historically, long-standing medical barriers to HCV treatment, several racial, psychological and socioeconomic barriers, and disparities remain,” the researchers concluded. “Consequently, patients who are African American, uninsured, and actively use drugs and alcohol will suffer from increased HCV-related morbidity and mortality in the coming years if deliberate public health and clinical efforts are not made to facilitate access to DAAs.”

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Sims OT, Guo Y, Shoreibah MG, et al. Short article: alcohol and substance use, race, and insurance status predict nontreatment for hepatitis C virus in the era of direct acting antivirals. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2017;29(11):1219-1222. doi:10.1097/MEG.0000000000000961.