Journal
EPIDEMIOLOGY AND HEALTH
Volume 43, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
KOREAN SOC EPIDEMIOLOGY
DOI: 10.4178/epih.e2021077
Keywords
Hepatitis C; Drug users; Epidemiology; Treatment uptake
Categories
Funding
- grant for the Chronic Infectious Disease Cohort Study (Korea HCV Cohort Study) from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency [4800-4859-304]
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This study investigated the epidemiological and clinical characteristics, treatment uptake, and outcomes of HCV infection among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Korea. The results showed that the PWID group consisted of younger patients with a higher proportion of males and a higher treatment uptake rate. The distribution of PWID varied by region, and there were differences in genotype distribution between the PWID and non-PWID groups.
OBJECTIVES: Injection drug use is a major risk factor for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection; however, limited data on this topic are available in Korea. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the epidemiological and clinical characteristics, treatment uptake, and outcomes of HCV infection among people who inject drugs (PWID). METHODS: We used the data from the Korea HCV cohort, which prospectively enrolled patients with HCV infection between 2007 and 2019. Clinical data and results of a questionnaire survey on lifetime risk factors for HCV infection were analyzed according to a self-reported history of injection drug use (PWID vs. non-PWID group). RESULTS: Among the 2,468 patients, 166 (6.7%) were in the PWID group, which contained younger patients (50.6 +/- 8.2 vs. 58.2 +/- 13.1 years) and a higher proportion of male (81.9 vs. 48.8%) than the non-PWID group. The distribution of PWID showed significant regional variations. Exposure to other risk factors for HCV infection was different between the groups. The proportion of patients with genotype non-2 infection was higher in the PWID group. Treatment uptake was higher in the PWID group in the interferon era; however, it was comparable between the groups in the direct-acting antiviral era. The rate of sustained virological response did not significantly differ between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: As of 2019, PWID constituted a minority of HCV-infected people in Korea. The epidemiological characteristics, but not treatment uptake and outcomes, were different between the PWID and non-PWID groups. Therefore, active HCV screening and treatment should be offered to PWID in Korea.
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