Increased Risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration with Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection: A Nationwide Population-Based Propensity Score-Matched Cohort Study in Taiwan.

Studies evaluating the association between age-related macular degeneration (AMD) risk and HCV infection are scant. In this population-based cohort study, 13,300 patients newly diagnosed as having HCV (HCV cohort) and 26,600 propensity score-matched patients without HCV (non-HCV cohort) were identified from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database between 2000 and 2013. Furthermore, 1,983 patients with HCV who received pegylated interferon and ribavirin treatment (HCV-treated cohort) and propensity score-matched patients with HCV (matched at a ratio of 1:2) who did not receive this treatment (HCV-untreated cohort) were selected from the HCV cohort. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) associated with the risk of AMD in the HCV and non-HCV cohorts. The adjusted HR (aHR) for AMD in the HCV cohort was 1.22 (95% CI = 1.09-1.35). This significant association was observed only for nonexudative AMD (aHR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.09-1.37). Compared with the HCV-untreated cohort, the HCV-treated cohort showed no significant association with any type of AMD (aHR = 1.07, 95% CI = 0.81-1.43). Age and sex did not modify AMD development after the exposure and treatment of chronic HCV infection. Our findings revealed that patients with chronic HCV infection had an increased risk of AMD.

Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection Are at an Increased Risk of Colorectal Cancer: A Nationwide Population-Based Case-Control Study in Taiwan.

AIM: Studies evaluating colorectal cancer (CRC) risk associated with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are limited. METHODS: In this case-control study, we identify 67,670 CRC cases newly diagnosed from 2005 to 2011 and randomly selected 67,670 controls without HCV and CRC from the same database, frequency matched by age and sex of cases. RESULTS: Results of logistic regression analysis revealed that the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of CRC was 1.16 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.08-1.24, p < 0.001) in association with chronic HCV. The CRC risk was slightly greater for women than for men. The risk decreased with age, with the aOR decreased from 2.26 (95% CI = 1.32-3.87, p = 0.003) in patients under 45 years old to 1.31 (95% CI = 1.10-1.55, p = 0.03) in patients aged 50-59, and 1.10 (95% CI = 1.00-1.22, p = 0.061) in patients aged over 70. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggested that patients with chronic HCV infection are at an elevated risk of developing CRC. Our data also imply that the CRC prevention programs are needed to target younger HCV patients.