Tsui Judith I, Currie Sue, Shen Hui, Bini Edmund J, Brau Norbert, Wright Teresa L
San Francisco VAMC, 4150 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA.
Dig Dis Sci. 2008 Mar;53(3):809-14. doi: 10.1007/s10620-007-9926-x. Epub 2007 Sep 1.
We undertook this study to determine if treatment candidacy and outcomes were similar between elderly and non-elderly patients.
This was a prospective cohort study that screened 4,025 patients with chronic hepatitis C for HCV antiviral treatment at 24 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers throughout the country. We used multivariable logistic regression to determine whether there was an independent association between being elderly (age > 60 vs. <or= 60) and (1) being considered a treatment candidate by clinician, and (2) achieving sustained virologic response if treated.
364 of the 4,025 patients (9%) were over the age of 60. Only 25% of patients over the age of 60 were considered to be treatment candidates by the evaluating clinician, and only 10% were started on treatment. After adjustment for potential confounders, older age remained associated with a lower likelihood of being considered a treatment candidate (adjusted OR = 0.43; 95% CI: 0.30-0.61). Although based on a small sample of elderly treated patients (n = 35), being elderly did not appear to be associated with a lower likelihood of achieving SVR (adjusted OR = 1.54; 95% CI: 0.46-5.15).
Among veterans over the age of 60 with chronic hepatitis C who are referred for treatment, relatively few are considered treatment candidates and an even smaller number are ultimately treated. After adjusting for co-morbidities, age remains a strong predictor of not being a treatment candidate. In contrast, older age does not seem to adversely affect treatment outcomes and side effects.
