Relationship between Hepatitis C and Chronic Kidney Disease: Results from
the Th

Published ahead of print on March 8, 2006
Journal of the American Society of Nephrology


CLINICAL SCIENCE: Epidemiology and Outcomes


Relationship between Hepatitis C and Chronic Kidney Disease: Results from
the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
Judith I. Tsui *1, Eric Vittinghoff , Michael G. Shlipak *, and Ann M.
O’Hare *

*Department of Medicine, University of California at San Francisco, General
Internal Medicine Section, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center,
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San
Francisco, and Division of Nephrology, VA Medical Center, San Francisco and
University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California




1 To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: judith.tsui@....


Abstract


Previous research supports an association between hepatitis C virus (HCV)
infection and glomerulonephritis. However, little is known about the
association between HCV and chronic kidney disease. The cross-sectional
association between prevalent hepatitis C seropositivity and albuminuria and
estimated GFR (eGFR), respectively, was examined among 15,029 participants
in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III).
In the multivariate analysis, we noted an age-dependent association between
HCV seropositivity and albuminuria (adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence
intervals 0.83, 0.39 to 1.75 for ages 20 to 39; 1.84, 1.00 to 3.37 for ages
40 to 59; 2.47, 1.27 to 4.80 for 60 yr of age). There was no significant
association observed for hepatitis C seropositivity and low eGFR (<60 ml/min
per 1.73 m2; adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence interval for all ages
0.89, 0.49 to 1.62). Among a representative sample of the US population,
hepatitis C is independently associated with albuminuria among adults over
the age of 40; however, it does not seem to be significantly associated with
a low eGFR in this population-based cross-sectional analysis.


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