In overweight patients with chronic hepatitis C, circulating insulin is associated with hepatic fibrosis: implications for therapy

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Host factors such as increased body mass index (BMI) and genotype-specific viral factors contribute to the development of steatosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C (HCV). We hypothesized that host metabolic factors associated with increased BMI may play a role in disease progression. METHODS: Fasting serum was collected from 160 patients with chronic HCV at the time of liver biopsy and 45 age, gender and BMI matched controls, and assessed for levels of insulin, c-peptide and leptin. RESULTS: Patients with viral genotype 3 had more severe steatosis (P=0.0001) and developed stages 1 and 2 fibrosis at a younger age (P<0.05) than patients with genotype 1. For both genotypes..