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According to results of a study by
researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), African
American women co-infected with HIV and the hepatitis C virus (HCV) are less
likely to die from liver disease than Caucasian or Hispanic women. The study
examined racial differences and mortality among women co-infected with HIV and
HCV.
The team followed 794 patients who
were part of the Women’s Interagency HIV study funded by the National
Institutes of Health. The patient group included 140 Caucasians, 159 Hispanics,
and 495 African Americans. The patients were seen twice a year for detailed
health histories, physical exams, interviews, and clinical tests. At median
follow-up of approximately 9 years and maximum follow-up of 16 years, there
were 438 deaths, 37 percent from HIV/AIDS and 11 percent from liver-related
disease. About 56 percent of African-Americans, 56 percent of Caucasians, and
52 percent of Hispanics died during follow-up.
Liver disease was the primary cause
of death in 21 percent of Hispanics, 14 percent of Caucasians, and 8 percent of
African-Americans. Dr. Monika Sarkar, the lead researcher, noted that further
studies are needed to understand the reasons for the discrepancy in
liver-related deaths among these racial groups.
The study titled, “Lower
Liver-Related Death in African-American Women with Human Immunodeficiency
Virus/Hepatitis C Virus Coinfection, Compared to Caucasian and Hispanic Women,”
was published in the journal Hepatology, 56: 1699–1705. doi: 10.1002/hep.25859.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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