TY - JOUR
T1 - Characteristics of liver cirrhosis in Italy
T2 - Evidence for a decreasing role of HCV aetiology
AU - EPACRON study group
AU - Stroffolini, Tommaso
AU - Sagnelli, Evangelista
AU - Gaeta, Giovanni Battista
AU - Sagnelli, Caterina
AU - Andriulli, Angelo
AU - Brancaccio, Giuseppina
AU - Pirisi, Mario
AU - Colloredo, Guido
AU - Morisco, Filomena
AU - Furlan, Caterina
AU - Almasio, Piero Luigi
AU - Babudieri, Sergio
AU - Cacopardo, Bruno
AU - Coppola, Nicola
AU - De Luca, Massimo
AU - Licata, Anna
AU - Pisaturo, Mariantonietta
AU - Rosina, Floriano
AU - Russello, Maurizio
AU - Santantonio, Teresa
AU - Smedile, Antonina
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 European Federation of Internal Medicine
PY - 2017/3/1
Y1 - 2017/3/1
N2 - Background Previous cross-sectional studies have shown that hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection had been the main agent associated with liver cirrhosis in Italy. Aim To assess epidemiological, laboratory and clinical features of liver cirrhosis in Italy in 2014. Patients Out of the 2557 consecutive subjects evaluated in 16 hospitals located throughout Italy in 2014, 832 (32.6%) had liver cirrhosis and were enrolled in this study. Results The mean age of subjects was 60.3 years, with a male/female ratio of 1.7; 74.9% of cases had Child A cirrhosis and 17.9% superimposed hepatocellular carcinoma. HCV infection, alone or in combination with other aetiologic agents, was responsible of 58.6% of cases, HBV aetiology accounted for the 17.6% and alcohol abuse for the 16.0%. Compared with virus-related cirrhotic patients, those alcohol-related more frequently showed decompensation (p = 0.02). Conclusions Compared to previous surveys performed in 1992 and in 2001, we observe a statistically significant (p < 0.05) decreasing role of both HCV infection and alcohol abuse as aetiologic agents of liver cirrhosis in Italy, explaining, at least in part, the slow, progressive decline of the mortality rate for liver cirrhosis in the last decades in this country (from 34.5 deaths/100,000 inhabitants in1980 to 10.8 in 2012).
AB - Background Previous cross-sectional studies have shown that hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection had been the main agent associated with liver cirrhosis in Italy. Aim To assess epidemiological, laboratory and clinical features of liver cirrhosis in Italy in 2014. Patients Out of the 2557 consecutive subjects evaluated in 16 hospitals located throughout Italy in 2014, 832 (32.6%) had liver cirrhosis and were enrolled in this study. Results The mean age of subjects was 60.3 years, with a male/female ratio of 1.7; 74.9% of cases had Child A cirrhosis and 17.9% superimposed hepatocellular carcinoma. HCV infection, alone or in combination with other aetiologic agents, was responsible of 58.6% of cases, HBV aetiology accounted for the 17.6% and alcohol abuse for the 16.0%. Compared with virus-related cirrhotic patients, those alcohol-related more frequently showed decompensation (p = 0.02). Conclusions Compared to previous surveys performed in 1992 and in 2001, we observe a statistically significant (p < 0.05) decreasing role of both HCV infection and alcohol abuse as aetiologic agents of liver cirrhosis in Italy, explaining, at least in part, the slow, progressive decline of the mortality rate for liver cirrhosis in the last decades in this country (from 34.5 deaths/100,000 inhabitants in1980 to 10.8 in 2012).
KW - Alcohol abuse
KW - HBV
KW - HCV
KW - Liver cirrhosis
KW - Liver cirrhosis epidemiology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85013187972&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ejim.2016.10.012
DO - 10.1016/j.ejim.2016.10.012
M3 - Article
SN - 0953-6205
VL - 38
SP - 68
EP - 72
JO - European Journal of Internal Medicine
JF - European Journal of Internal Medicine
ER -
