Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina, Tubarão, SC, Brazil.
Rev Soc Bras Med Trop. 2013 May-Jun;46(3):281-7. doi: 10.1590/0037-8682-0026-2013.
Few Latin American studies have assessed the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in elderly individuals, in whom the highest rates are expected. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of and factors associated with HCV infection in elderly residents in the municipality of Tubarão, Santa Catarina.
This cross-sectional study included 820 individuals (aged ≥ 60 years) who were selected by simple random sampling. The presence of anti-HCV antibodies was tested by chemiluminescence, and HCV RNA detection was performed for the anti-HCV-reactive subjects. Those individuals who were anti-HCV reactive but had undetectable HCV RNA levels were tested using a third-generation recombinant immunoblot assay. The variables were compared using the chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test, and those variables with p < 0.05 were included in the logistic regression model.
The mean patient age was 68.6 years (SD 7.0 years); 39% were men, and 92% were Caucasian. Eighteen subjects were anti-HCV positive. Among these individuals, 4 were characterized as false-positives, leaving 14 (1.7%) individuals with confirmed infections for analysis. HCV infection was associated with an age older than 65 years, households with 3 or more residents and the previous transfusion of blood products. In the logistic regression analysis, the following variables were independently associated with HCV infection: households with 3 or more residents (OR 7.9, 95% CI 1.7-35.9, p = 0.008) and previous blood transfusion (OR 6.2, 95% CI 2.1-18.6, p = 0.001).
The HCV prevalence in the elderly population in the municipality of Tubarão was higher than that found in previous studies of blood donors in the same region. Although exposure to contaminated blood products remained important, other transmission routes, such as household transmission, could play a role in HCV infection.
很少有拉丁美洲的研究评估过老年人群中丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）感染的流行率，而老年人的感染率预计是最高的。我们旨在调查圣卡塔琳娜州图巴朗市老年居民的 HCV 感染率和相关因素。
这是一项横断面研究，纳入了 820 名（年龄≥60 岁）通过简单随机抽样选择的个体。采用化学发光法检测抗-HCV 抗体，对抗-HCV 阳性者进行 HCV RNA 检测。对于抗-HCV 阳性但 HCV RNA 水平不可检测的个体，采用第三代重组免疫印迹试验进行检测。采用卡方检验或 Fisher 确切概率法比较变量，p＜0.05 的变量纳入 logistic 回归模型。
患者的平均年龄为 68.6 岁（标准差 7.0 岁）；39%为男性，92%为白种人。有 18 名个体抗-HCV 阳性。其中 4 名被确认为假阳性，其余 14 名（1.7%）确认为感染。HCV 感染与年龄大于 65 岁、有 3 个或更多居民的家庭以及既往输血有关。在 logistic 回归分析中，与 HCV 感染相关的变量包括有 3 个或更多居民的家庭（OR 7.9，95%CI 1.7-35.9，p=0.008）和既往输血（OR 6.2，95%CI 2.1-18.6，p=0.001）。
图巴朗市老年人群的 HCV 流行率高于该地区既往献血者研究中的流行率。尽管接触受污染的血液制品仍然很重要，但其他传播途径，如家庭传播，可能在 HCV 感染中发挥作用。
