AI Article Synopsis

  • The study examines barriers to viral hepatitis treatment in individuals with addiction disorders and analyzes healthcare utilization (HCU) data from the Netherlands to evaluate care received by these patients.
  • Out of the 10,513 patients with hepatitis B and C, only 47% achieved optimal HCU, but those with a history of addiction actually had better health care utilization compared to non-addicted patients.
  • The findings emphasize the need for improved access to hepatitis care, particularly for migrant populations, while also suggesting that understanding the care linkage for patients with addictions needs further investigation to achieve WHO elimination goals for viral hepatitis.

Article Abstract

The elimination of viral hepatitis in target populations is crucial in reaching WHO viral hepatitis elimination goals. Several barriers for the treatment of viral hepatitis in people with addictive disorders have been identified, yet nationwide data on hepatitis healthcare utilization (HCU) in these patients are limited. We investigated whether a history of addictive disorder is associated with suboptimal hepatitis HCU, indicating failure to receive diagnostic care or treatment. We identified all newly referred viral hepatitis patients in the Netherlands between 2014 and 2019 by query of the Dutch national hospital claims database. Each patient's first year of HBV or HCV care activities was collected and clustered in two categories, 'optimal' or 'suboptimal' hepatitis HCU. Optimal HCU includes antiviral therapy. We tested the association between addiction history and HCU, adjusted for sex, age, migrant status, and comorbidity. In secondary analyses, we explored additional factors affecting hepatitis HCU. We included 10,513 incident HBV and HCV patients, with 13% having an addiction history. Only 47% of all patients achieved optimal hepatitis HCU. Addiction history was associated with less suboptimal HCU (adjusted OR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.64-0.82). Migration background was associated with suboptimal HCU (OR = 1.62, 95% CI = 1.50-1.76). This study shows that addiction history is associated with higher viral hepatitis HCU; thus, this population performs better compared to non-addicted patients. However, less than 50% of all patients received optimal hepatitis care. This study highlights the need to improve hepatitis HCU in all patients, with a focus on migrant populations. Linkage to care in the addicted patients is not studied here and may be a remaining obstacle to be studied and improved to reach WHO viral hepatitis elimination goals.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8878485PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcm11041146DOI Listing

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