Alcohol-related and viral hepatitis C-related cirrhosis mortality among Hispanic subgroups in the United States, 2000-2004.

Background: Hispanics have much higher cirrhosis mortality rates than non-Hispanic Blacks and Whites. Although heavy alcohol use and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are two major risk factors for cirrhosis, no studies have systematically assessed the contribution of alcohol- and HCV-related cirrhosis deaths to the total cirrhosis mortality for Hispanics as a whole and its variations across Hispanic subgroups. To fill this gap, this study presents the latest data on total cirrhosis mortality as well as its component alcohol- and HCV-related cirrhosis mortality for all Hispanics and for Hispanic subgroups.