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Role of Non-hepatic Medical Comorbidity and Functional Limitations in Predicting Mortality in Patients with HCV

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Abstract

Background

Medical comorbidities and functional status limitations are determinants of mortality in many chronic diseases. The extent to which survival in the rapidly aging cohort of patients with HCV is affected by these competing causes of mortality remains unclear.

Aim

We sought to determine the effect of medical/functional comorbidities on survival after adjusting for liver disease severity in a cohort of patients with HCV infection.

Methods

We prospectively recruited consecutive patients from an HCV clinic 2009–2014. We calculated an index of survival (Schonberg Index, SI) based on age, gender, medical comorbidities, and functional status variables. We defined cirrhosis with the FibroSure test (F3/4–F4). We used multivariable Cox modeling to assess association between functional/survival measure and survival after adjustment for severity of liver disease.

Results

The cohort consisted of 1052 HCV patients. The average age was 56.8 years; 36 % had cirrhosis. The mean SI was 8.2 (SD = 2.7). During a mean follow-up of 5610 person-years, 102 (9.7 %) patients died. In unadjusted analysis, higher baseline SI predicted mortality (HR 1.17; 95 % CI 1.09–1.25). SI similarly predicted mortality in cirrhotic patients (HR 1.23, 95 % CI 1.13–1.34) and non-cirrhotic patients (HR 1.21, 95 % CI 1.08–1.36). This did not change after adjusting for age, drug use, or coronary artery disease.

Discussion

Comorbidities and functional limitations predict higher mortality in patients with HCV; this relationship is independent of cirrhosis. Use of general prognostic indices may help identify HCV patients at high risk for mortality, which could further guide clinical care in a manner not achievable with assessment of liver disease alone.

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Abbreviations

SI:

Schonberg Index

BMI:

Body mass index

CI:

Confidence interval

HCV:

Hepatitis C virus

HCC:

Hepatocellular carcinoma

OR:

Odds ratio

HR:

Hazard ratio

PH:

Proportional hazards

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded in part by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (CSR&D Merit Review H-22934, PI: El-Serag), and the Houston Veterans Affairs Health Services Research Center of Innovations (CIN13-413). Drs. El-Serag’s and White’s effort was supported in part by the National Institute of Diabetes Digestive and Kidney Diseases (K01 DK081736 and K24 DK04-107, respectively).

Author’s contributions

Yamini Natarajan—Collaborated in study design, performed the research, collected and analyzed the data, wrote the manuscript. Donna L. White—Collaborated in study design, wrote the manuscript. Hashem B El-Serag—Collaborated in study design, wrote the manuscript. David Ramsey—Collaborated in study design, collected and analyzed data. Peter Richardson—Collected and analyzed data. Jill Kuzniarek—Collaborated in study design, collected data. Richa Shukla—Performed the research, collected the data. Aylin Tansel—Performed the research, collected the data. Fasiha Kanwal—Collaborated in study design, analyzed the data, wrote the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Yamini Natarajan, Donna L. White, Hashem B. El-Serag, Richa Shukla, Aylin Tansel & Fasiha Kanwal

  2. Clinical Epidemiology and Comparative Effectiveness Program, Section of Health Services Research (IQuESt), Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Donna L. White, Hashem B. El-Serag, David Ramsey, Peter Richardson, Jill Kuzniarek & Fasiha Kanwal

  3. Texas Medical Center Digestive Disease Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Donna L. White, Hashem B. El-Serag & Fasiha Kanwal

  4. Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Donna L. White, Hashem B. El-Serag & Fasiha Kanwal

  5. Center for Translational Research on Inflammatory Diseases (CTRID), Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Donna L. White

Authors
  1. Yamini Natarajan
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  2. Donna L. White
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  3. Hashem B. El-Serag
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  4. David Ramsey
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  6. Jill Kuzniarek
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  7. Richa Shukla
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  8. Aylin Tansel
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  9. Fasiha Kanwal
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yamini Natarajan.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the National Institute of Diabetes Digestive and Kidney Diseases

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Cite this article

Natarajan, Y., White, D.L., El-Serag, H.B. et al. Role of Non-hepatic Medical Comorbidity and Functional Limitations in Predicting Mortality in Patients with HCV. Dig Dis Sci 62, 76–83 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-016-4303-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-016-4303-2

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