Association of hepatitis C virus infection and diabetes in central Tunisia.

Aim: To investigate hepatitis C virus (HCV) seroprevalence in Tunisian patients with diabetes mellitus and in a control group.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the HCV seroprevalence in 1269 patients with diabetes (452 male, 817 female) and 1315 non-diabetic patients, attending health centers in Sousse, Tunisia. HCV screening was performed in both groups using a fourth-generation enzyme immunoassay.

Results: In the diabetic group, 17 (1.3%) were found to be HCV-infected compared with eight (0.6%) in the control group, although the difference was not significant (P = 0.057). Quantitative PCR was performed in 20 patients. Eleven patients were positive and showed HCV genotype 1b in all cases.

Conclusion: Frequency of HCV antibodies was low in patients with diabetes and in the control group in central Tunisia, with no significant difference between the groups.