الفهرس 
Hepatitis C Virus InfectionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Abstract
Background: In Egypt, the prevalence rate of HCV infected individuals was 15% of the population in 2013 which is considered as one of the highest prevalence rates of HCV worldwide. Reduced bone mineral density (BMD), known as hepatic osteodystrophy (HOD), represents a well known extrahepatic complication in chronic liver diseases (CLD).(1)
Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess BMD in non-cirrhotic patients with chronic HCV infection, in order to determine the relation between BMD and HCV infection.
Patients and Methods: This cross sectional study included 40 adult patients (34 males and 6 females) with mean of age 42.18±3.64 years, attending Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine Departments of Police Hospitals and suffering from chronic HCV infection with disease duration more than six months. Twenty normal well matched normal subjects regarding age and sex were included as control group.
Results: Regarding DEXA scan T score and Z score results, DEXA of spine (LS) (p<0.001) and DEXA of neck of femur (NF) of patients (p=0.002)and (p<0.001) were statistically lower compared to control groups, however DEXA of radius of patients shows statistically insignificant difference compared to controls (p=0.478).
Conclusion: In conclusion, chronic HCV infection is associated with low BMD and its degree related to severity of disease in absence of cirrhosis. Our results suggest that BMD assessments should be considered in both men and women with chronic HCV infection with the goal of implementing interventions targeted at reducing BMD loss or even improving BMD before the onset of debilitating and potentially life-threatening fractures.