Screening response to hepatitis c virus antibodies among diabetic patients attending a tertiary hospital in Nigeria

Abstract

Epidemiological studies have suggested that hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a risk factor for the development of diabetes mellitus (DM) type 2; hence, this study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of HCV antibodies among diabetic patients attending the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), Ilorin, north central Nigeria. One hundred and eighty (180) diabetic patients made up of seventy-five males (41.7%) and 105 females (58.3%) were recruited for the study. Structured questionnaire on demographic data and risk factors for HCV was administered to the participants. The sera of all the subjects were assayed for antibodies to HCV using a fourth generation Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method. The overall prevalence of HCV infection among diabetic patients was 5.0%. Of the nine participants’ positive for HCV antibodies, three were males (1.7%), while six were females (3.3%). Although more female attended the diabetic clinic, there was no significant difference between HCV infection across sex (P = 0.603; p>0.05). The prevalence of HCV infection was highest in the 40-60 age group. Two of the sero-positive individuals had elevated transaminases, with one of the two being an alcohol consumer. Since type 2 diabetes is a debilitating disease condition, especially in individuals above 30 years of age, these results highlight the need for screening to determine the presence of HCV among diabetic patients.

Keywords: Hepatitis C virus, antibodies, type 2 diabetics, antibodies, Nigeria

International Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences, 6(3): 306-310, 2010