• Chih-Wen Wang, Chung-Feng Huang, Ming-Lun Yeh, Szu-Chia Chen, Chih-Hsing Hung, Chao-Hung Kuo, Jee-Fu Huang, Chia-Yen Dai, Wan-Long Chuang, and Ming Lung-Yu.
• Division of Hepatobiliary, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital; School of Medicine and Hepatitis Research Center, College of Medicine and Center for Liquid Biopsy and Cohort Research, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Municipal Siaogang Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
• Am. J. Med. Sci. 2024 Sep 1; 368 (3): 203213203-213.

BackgroundCoronary and thoracic aortic calcification was associated with stroke, coronary heart, and peripheral vascular disease. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is significantly associated with insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus and hepatic steatosis. We aimed to investigate the relationship between HCV infection and coronary, thoracic aortic atherosclerosis.Materials And MethodsCalcification was detected by chest computed tomography and defined as any Agatston score greater than zero. Metabolic syndrome was based on the modified Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) and AST-to-platelet ratio (APRI) was calculated. The anti-HCV signal-to-cutoff (S/CO) ratio was determined by the third generation ELISA kit. Atherosclerosis risk was estimated by using multiple logistic regression modeling.ResultsBeing positive for both metabolic syndrome and HCV infection (OR = 2.65, 95% CI: 1.26-5.59, p = 0.007), negative for metabolic syndrome and positive for HCV infection (OR = 2.75, 95% CI: 1.48-5.30, p = 0.001), and positive for metabolic syndrome and negative for HCV infection (OR = 2.42, 95% CI: 1.92-3.07, p < 0.001) were associated with atherosclerosis compared with being negative for both metabolic syndrome and HCV infection (Ptrend< 0.001). HCV infection with liver fibrosis (HCVFIB4>1.4; OR = 2.16, 95% CI: 1.22-3.82, p = 0.008), or (HCVAPRI>0.5; OR = 3.40, 95% CI: 1.28-9.06, p = 0.014) and elevated anti-HCV S/CO ratio (anti-HCVS/CO>10.0; OR = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.01-2.93, p = 0.045) was associated with atherosclerosis.ConclusionsHCV infection with metabolic syndrome, liver fibrosis and elevated anti-HCV S/CO ratio was associated with atherosclerosis.Copyright © 2024 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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