부산대학교 도서관

Background and aims: Clearance of hepatitis C virus (HCV) is associated with improved glycometabolic control in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) but whether this effect is maintained over the long term with a reduction in liver‐related events (LRE) is still debated. To address these issues, we conducted a long‐term prospective study on diabetic and non‐diabetic patients with chronic hepatitis C cured by direct antiviral agents (DAAs). Methods: Among 893 recruited patients, 15.7% were diabetic (Group 1) and 84.3% non‐diabetic (Group 2); changes in fasting glucose (FG) and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels were assessed in Group 1 while the incidence of LRE was established in the whole cohort. Differences between groups were evaluated and independent predictors of unfavourable clinical outcome were established. Results: After a mean follow up of 44.5 months, a significant reduction in FG and HbA1c values was found in Group 1. Death was reported in 5.7% of patients in Group 1 vs 1.6% in Group 2 (P =.003), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)‐free survival was significantly lower in Group 2 (P =.015) as well as LRE‐free survival in Group 1 cirrhotic patients (P =.0006). After adjustment for baseline variables, cirrhosis and albumin levels emerged as independent predictors of LRE; low albumin levels, DM and central obesity were associated with HCC risk in cirrhotic patients while insulin therapy emerged as unfavourable predictor among diabetics. Conclusions: SVR achieved by DAAs is associated with long‐term improvement of glycometabolic control in diabetic patients, but among cirrhotics DM still exerts a detrimental effect on the liver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]