Knowledge of the current epidemiology of chronic liver disease in Italy is mostly obsolete and fragmentary for the lack of up-to-date consistent data. In 2001, a 6-month prevalence study was undertaken in 79 hospitals to assess the characteristics of chronic liver disease in Italy. Both prevalent and incident cases were enrolled. A total of 9,997 patients were recruited, of whom 939 (9.4%) had normal liver biochemistry, 6,210 (62.1%) had chronic hepatitis, 1,940 (19.4%) had liver cirrhosis, and 341 (3.4%) had hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In 567 patients (5.7%) the diagnosis was not established. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) was found in 69.9% of the patients and was the only etiological factor in 56.3% of all the patients. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was present in the serum of 13.4% of the cases (in 10% it was the only etiological factor). A history of alcohol abuse was found in 23% of the cases (9.4% without viral infection). The prevalence of HCV-related cases was significantly lower in incident than in prevalent cases (44.9% vs. 59.9%, P < 0.0001), while the proportion of patients with alcohol abuse was much higher in incident than in prevalent cases (18.1% vs. 6.6%, P < 0.0001). These findings indicate that nearly one quarter of patients with chronic liver diseases in Italy have a severe disease such as liver cirrhosis and HCC represents a not negligible burden for the national health system. Hepatitis B fell in importance as an etiological factor. Hepatitis C is the important pathogenic factor for chronic liver disease in Italy. However, a comparison between the prevalent and incident cases suggests that in future HCV infection will also play a progressively decreasing role, in part as a consequence of treatment. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The importance of HCV on the burden of chronic liver disease in Italy: A multicenter prevalence study of 9,997 cases / Sagnelli, Evangelista; Stroffolini, Tommaso; Mele, Alfonso; Almasio, Piero; Coppola, Nicola; Ferrigno, Luigina; Scolastico, Carlo; Onofrio, Mirella; Imparato, Michele; Filippini, Pietro; Traverso, A.; Arrigoni, A.; Torchio, M.; Garbagnoli, P.; Del Mastro, B.; Romano, P.; Vanni, R.; Brusita, D.; Meucci, P.; Cassola, G.; Borzio, M.; Bellobuono, A.; De Bona, A.; Re, T.; Del Poggio, P.; Baisini, O.; Colombo, A.; Attolini, C.; Sacchini, D.; Minoli, L.; Gazzaniga, V.; Segato, S.; Oriolo, M.; Parlotto, A.; Ghersetti, M.; Capra, F.; Muratori, R.; Sama, C.; Boccia, S.; Verdianelli, G.; Praticò, A.; Grandi, M.; Ventura, E.; Cantoni, F.; Vincenti, A.; Nerli, A.; Galeazzi, L.; Solinas, A.; Paroli, M.; De Sanctis, G.M.; Sereno, S.; Clementi, C.; Comandino, U. Visco; Gallo, A.I.; Festi, D.; Sabusco, G.; Morisco, F.; Liberti, A.; Borgia, G.; Scarpellino, F.; Persico, M.; Sagnelli, C.; Coppola, C.; Caserta, L.; Elia, A.; De Vita, G.; Lanzotti, A.; Pizzolante, L.; Messina, V.; Fiore, G.; Agostinacchio, E.; Santantonio, T.; Mazzola, M.; Vinelli, F.; Campagna, A.; Cataldini, S.; Monelli, I.; Lascaro, M.; Polimeri, N.; Furgiuele, P.L.; Ferraro, M.; Prestileo, T.; Alessandri, A.; Russello, M.; Bellissima, P.; Orifici, G.; Pisani, G.; Angioni, S.; Lai, M.; Spanneda, M.. - In: JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY. - ISSN 0146-6615. - STAMPA. - 75:4(2005), pp. 522-527. [10.1002/jmv.20313]
The importance of HCV on the burden of chronic liver disease in Italy: A multicenter prevalence study of 9,997 cases
Minoli, L.;Oriolo, M.;Capra, F.;Sama, C.;Boccia, S.;Praticò, A.;Ventura, E.;Solinas, A.;Clementi, C.;Festi, D.;Borgia, G.;Coppola, C.;
2005
Abstract
Knowledge of the current epidemiology of chronic liver disease in Italy is mostly obsolete and fragmentary for the lack of up-to-date consistent data. In 2001, a 6-month prevalence study was undertaken in 79 hospitals to assess the characteristics of chronic liver disease in Italy. Both prevalent and incident cases were enrolled. A total of 9,997 patients were recruited, of whom 939 (9.4%) had normal liver biochemistry, 6,210 (62.1%) had chronic hepatitis, 1,940 (19.4%) had liver cirrhosis, and 341 (3.4%) had hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In 567 patients (5.7%) the diagnosis was not established. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) was found in 69.9% of the patients and was the only etiological factor in 56.3% of all the patients. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was present in the serum of 13.4% of the cases (in 10% it was the only etiological factor). A history of alcohol abuse was found in 23% of the cases (9.4% without viral infection). The prevalence of HCV-related cases was significantly lower in incident than in prevalent cases (44.9% vs. 59.9%, P < 0.0001), while the proportion of patients with alcohol abuse was much higher in incident than in prevalent cases (18.1% vs. 6.6%, P < 0.0001). These findings indicate that nearly one quarter of patients with chronic liver diseases in Italy have a severe disease such as liver cirrhosis and HCC represents a not negligible burden for the national health system. Hepatitis B fell in importance as an etiological factor. Hepatitis C is the important pathogenic factor for chronic liver disease in Italy. However, a comparison between the prevalent and incident cases suggests that in future HCV infection will also play a progressively decreasing role, in part as a consequence of treatment. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
