Seattle Epidemiologic Research and Information Center (ERIC)
CSP #488: Prevalence of HCV among Veterans (Veteran Serum & Plasma Repository)
Several studies suggest that Veterans have a higher prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection than non-veterans, possibly because of military exposures. The primary objective of this study was to estimate about how many US Veterans (female and male) were living with HCV infection or prior exposure. The secondary objective was to determine associations between HCV and both military and non-military exposures.
This study looked at a sample of nearly 4,000 randomly selected Veterans who received healthcare from 1998–2000 at 20 randomly selected VA facilities in the United States. Among the selected Veterans, 1,288 completed a risk factor survey, had blood drawn, and had blood samples available for assessment of HCV antibodies to identify chronic infection, exposure, and immunity.
The study found that the prevalence of HCV in the participants was twice as great as the prevalence of HCV in the general US population, likely reflecting increased exposure to traditional risk factors of HCV among these Veterans.
Principal Investigator: Jason Dominitz, MD, MHS
Publication
Dominitz, J. A., Boyko, E. J., Koepsell, T. D., Heagerty, P. J., Maynard, C. and Sporleder, J. L. (2005), Elevated prevalence of hepatitis C infection in users of United States veterans medical centers. Hepatology, 41: 88–96.
Request access to data and biospecimens
This study is a serum, plasma, and data repository as well as a participant registry. Qualified researchers can request access to these data and specimens for secondary data analysis or new data collection.
