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

Table 3 Clinical factors associated with disease progression, defined as development of liver cirrhosis, decompensation, hepatocellular carcinoma, or mortality (n = 174)

Variable	HR	P value	Adjusted HR	P value
OBI	0.494 (0.210-1.164)	0.107	0.510 (0.208-1.251)	0.141
Age (per year)	1.020 (0.990-1.050)	0.194
Male sex	0.935 (0.534-1.636)	0.814
Anti-HBc positivity	2.291 (0.878-5.976)	0.090
AST > 40 IU/L	3.730 (1.740-7.996)	0.001	3.419 (1.117-10.463)	0.031
ALT > 40 IU/L	2.454 (1.273-4.730)	0.007	0.737 (0.297-1.826)	0.510
GGT > 70 IU/L	2.736 (1.571-4.765)	< 0.001
AFP > 20 ng/mL	2.247 (1.238-4.079)	0.008	1.370 (0.721-2.600)	0.336
Child-Pugh score	2.136 (1.628-2.802)	< 0.001	1.716 (1.230-2.394)	0.001
(per unit)
MELD score	1.111 (1.009-1.224)	0.032	0.987 (0.860-1.134)	0.856
(per unit)
SVR	0.263 (0.104-0.663)	0.005	0.317 (0.121-0.828)	0.019
HCV genotype 1	1.465 (0.780-2.753)	0.231

Disease progression defined as: (1) occurrence of liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), decompensation, or mortality in patients with chronic hepatitis; (2) occurrence of HCC, decompensation, or mortality in patients with cirrhosis; and (3) occurrence of mortality in patients with HCC. HR: Hazard ratio; OBI: Occult hepatitis B virus infection; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein; MELD: Model for end-stage liver disease; SVR: Sustained virologic response; HCV: Hepatitis C virus.