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. 2014 Mar;104(3):474-81.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301549. Epub 2014 Jan 16.

Previous exposure to HCV among persons born during 1945-1965: prevalence and predictors, United States, 1999-2008

Bryce D Smith  1 , Geoff A Beckett, Anthony Yartel, Deborah Holtzman, Nita Patel, John W Ward
Affiliations

Previous exposure to HCV among persons born during 1945-1965: prevalence and predictors, United States, 1999-2008

Bryce D Smith et al. Am J Public Health. 2014 Mar.

Abstract

Objectives: We examined HCV exposure prevalence and predictors among persons in the United States born during 1945-1965.

Methods: With data from the 1999-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, we calculated the proportion of persons born during 1945-1965 who tested positive for HCV antibody (anti-HCV) and analyzed the prevalence by sociodemographic and behavioral risk factors.

Results: Anti-HCV prevalence in the 1945-1965 birth cohort was 3.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.8%, 3.8%), substantially higher than among other adults (0.9%). Within the cohort, anti-HCV prevalence was higher among non-Hispanic Blacks (6.4%; 95% CI = 5.3%, 7.7%), persons with injection drug use histories (56.8%; 95% CI = 48.4%, 64.8%), and persons with elevated alanine aminotransferase levels (12.7%; 95% CI = 10.7%, 15.1%). Injection drug use (adjusted odds ratio = 98.4; 95% CI = 58.8, 164.5) was the strongest anti-HCV prevalence predictor. Among anti-HCV-positive persons, 57.8% reported having 2 or more alcoholic drinks daily.

Conclusions: With the high prevalence of HCV among persons born during 1945-1965, the increasing morbidity and mortality associated with HCV, and reductions in liver cancer and HCV-related mortality when HCV is eradicated, it is critically important to identify persons with HCV and link them to appropriate care.

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