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Diabetes more common in people with HBV

Diabetes is more common in people with HBV than in the general population, according to a study in Hepatology.

“This study evaluated the prevalence of glucose abnormalities and the associated factors in a large cohort of multiethnic HBV-infected persons residing in the United States and Canada,” Mandana Khalili, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues wrote. “We demonstrated that nearly one-quarter of this cohort had diabetes or prediabetes.”

In a cross-sectional study of patients enrolled within the Hepatitis B Research Network Adult Cohort Study from Jan. 14, 2011 to July 23, 2013, Khalili and colleagues evaluated 882 adult patients, of whom 47.2% were women, 71.3% were Asian and 83.7% were foreign born, and the median age was 44 years. Patients had a median BMI of 24.3 kg/m².

The researchers found that 12.5% of the patients had diabetes and that 7.8% had impaired fasting glucose (IFG). They also found that 36.7% of blacks and 25.5% of those foreign born who migrated more than 20 years ago or of those living in the U.S. had either a high prevalence of diabetes or IFG. Diabetes was associated with obesity (OR = 2.13; 95% CI, 1.01-4.49), hyperlipidemia (OR = 4.13; 95% CI, 2.33-7.32), high alanine aminotransferase level (OR = 1.86; 95% CI, 1.05-3.3) and family history of diabetes (OR = 3.43; 95% CI, 2.-5.88). In addition, IFG was associated with obesity (OR = 4.02; 95% CI, 1.85-8.71), hypertension (OR = 3; 95% CI, 1.6-5.64) and HBeAg positivity (OR = 0.39; 95% CI, 0.16-0.98).

“Type 2 diabetes represents a major public health burden owing to its rising prevalence worldwide,” Khalili and colleagues wrote. “Because patients with diabetes have higher prevalence of HBV infection, screening and treatment of prediabetes and diabetes are especially relevant in this population given that impaired glucose metabolism has been shown to promote liver fibrosis and increase the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma.” – by Will Offit

Disclosures: Chung reports that he received grants from Gilead and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.