Objective: To estimate the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Study design: Descriptive cross-sectional

Study setting: Department of Medicine, Aziz Fatimah Medical and Dental College, Faisalabad and Mohtrama Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Medical College / Divisional Headquarters Teaching Hospital, Mirpur Azad Kashmir.

Study duration:  Six months from April 2021 to September 2021.

Methods: Study participants were recruited from the outpatient department at Aziz Fatimah Medical and Dental College, Faisalabad and Mohtrama Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Medical College / Divisional Headquarters Teaching Hospital, Mirpur Azad Kashmir for duration of six months from April 2021 to September 2021. All demographic, medical and laboratory information were collected. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests of independence were used to analyse the data.

Results: Out of 300 hepatitis C patients (53% males, 47% females), overall, 26% (77 out of 300) were found to have diabetes. When characteristics of patients with and without diabetes disease were compared using χ² tests, we could not find any statistically significant relation of gender, BMI, hepatitis C disease duration, family history of diabetes and Child-Pugh classification of liver disease with prevalence of diabetes. Younger, middle-aged (30-50 years) patients had significantly higher prevalence of diabetes compared to older (51-70 years) aged patients (28% vs. 13%, p = 0.022).

Conclusion: 1 in 4 hepatitis C patients also manifest co-morbidity of diabetes. Having a younger or middle age (≤ 50 years) appears to contribute to diabetes prevalence in hepatitis C patients, however, the study sample comprises around 4 in 5 patients aged 30-50 years. Glucose intolerance and diabetes risk assessment, and early non-pharmaceutical management (probably uptake of healthy eating and physically active behaviour) among hepatitis C patients is warranted if complications are to be prevented.

Key Words: Hepatitis C, diabetes, Child-Pugh class

Key Points

·       Question: What is the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in patients with chronic hepatitis C in Faisalabad setting?

·       Findings: In this one-centre study that included 300 patients with ELISA and PCR confirmed hepatitis C disease presented in the OPD of Aziz Fatimah Medical and Dental College, Faisalabad and Mohtrama Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Medical College / Divisional Headquarters Teaching Hospital, Mirpur Azad Kashmir, nearly 26% of patients had type 2 diabetes. Among those patients with chronic hepatitis C disease, having type 2 diabetes was associated with much greater odds of having under 50 years age.

Meaning: Patients with chronic hepatitis C warrant glucose intolerance risk assessment and monitoring for progression of pre-diabetes/ diabetes, liver disease and the consequences of both.