Occult hepatitis B virus infection is not associated with disease progression of chronic hepatitis C virus infection

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of 174 patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection

Variable	Total (n = 174)	Chronic hepatitis (n = 83)	Liver cirrhosis (n = 47)	HCC (n = 44)
Mean age, yrbc	66.5 ± 9.9	65.6 ± 9.8	65.3 ± 10.1	69.7 ± 9.3
Male sex	105 (60.3)	54 (65.1)	24 (51.1)	27 (61.4)
Body mass index (kg/m2)	23.3 ± 3.0	23.6 ± 3.0	23.0 ± 3.2	23.0 ± 2.8
Ex or current smoker (n = 173)	51 (29.5)	26 (31.3)	10 (21.7)	15 (34.1)
Alcohol intake (social or heavy) (n = 173)	80 (46.2)	42 (50.6)	17 (37.0)	21 (47.8)
Anti-HBc (n = 100)	75 (75.0)	35 (71.4)	18 (85.7)	22 (73.3)
Hemoglobin (g/dL)c	13.5 ± 1.8	14.1 ± 1.5	13.5 ± 1.9	12.4 ± 1.9
Platelet (× 103/μL)ab	151.3 ± 87.4	188.0 ± 55.7	117.5 ± 120.2	118.3 ± 66.2
Albumin (g/dL)ab	4.0 ± 0.5	4.2 ± 0.2	3.8 ± 0.5	3.7 ± 0.5
Total bilirubin (mg/dL)a	1.0 ± 0.6	1.0 ± 1.7	1.2 ± 0.6	1.1 ± 0.8
ALP (IU/L)ab	100.3 ± 47.3	89.2 ± 30.9	102.0 ± 37.0	119.3 ± 71.4
AST (IU/L)ab	75.8 ± 103.3	76.0 ± 141.9	72.6 ± 47.8	78.8 ± 45.3
ALT (IU/L)	77.2 ± 138.5	89.7 ± 193.2	68.0 ± 59.3	63.3 ± 41.0
Creatinine (mg/dL)a	0.9 ± 0.4	1.0 ± 0.5	0.8 ± 0.2	0.9 ± 0.2
Prothrombin time (INR)ab	1.1 ± 0.1	1.0 ± 0.1	1.1 ± 0.1	1.1 ± 0.1
AFP > 20 ng/mL (n = 171)ab	30 (17.5)	5 (6.2)	9 (19.6)	16 (36.4)
Child-Pugh class (A/B/C)ab
A	160 (92.0)	83 (100)	40 (85.1)	37 (84.1)
B	12 (6.9)	0	5 (10.6)	7 (15.9)
C	2 (1.1)	0	2 (4.3)	0
MELD score (n = 167)ab	8.5 ± 2.3	8.0 ± 2.3	9.3 ± 2.2	8.9 ± 2.1
HCV genotype (1/2) (n = 135)	60/75	32/35	16/26	12/14 (46.2%/53.8%)
	(44.4%/55.6%)	(47.8%/52.2%)	(38.1%/61.9%)
Antiviral treatment
No antiviral treatment	102 (58.7)	45 (54.2)	25 (53.2)	32 (72.7)
Treatment without SVR	34 (19.5)	14 (16.9)	11 (23.4)	9 (20.5)
Treatment with SVRbc	38 (21.8)	24 (28.9)	11 (23.4)	3 (6.8)

Data are presented as mean ± SD or number (%).

^aP value < 0.05 between patients with chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis;

^bP value < 0.05 between patients with chronic hepatitis and HCC;

^cP value < 0.05 between patients with liver cirrhosis and HCC. ALP: Alkaline phosphatase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; MELD: Model for end-stage liver disease; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein; INR: International normalized ratio; SVR: Sustained virologic response.