Lisa I Backus1, Pamela S Belperio, Timothy P Loomis, Larry A Mole. 1. Lisa I. Backus, Pamela S. Belperio, Timothy P. Loomis, and Larry A. Mole are with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Public Health/Population Health, Washington, DC. Lisa Backus is also with the Department of Medicine, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA. Pamela S. Belperio is also with the Department of Pharmacy, VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System, Los Angeles, CA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: We assessed HCV screening and prevalence among veterans and estimated the potential impact of complete birth cohort screening, accounting for the disparate HCV disease burden by race/ethnicity and gender. METHODS: We used the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Corporate Data Warehouse to identify birth dates, gender, race/ethnicity, and laboratory tests for veterans with at least 1 VA outpatient visit in 2012. We calculated HCV screening rates, prevalence, and HCV infection incident diagnosis. RESULTS: Among 5,499,743 veterans, 54.7% had HCV screening through the VA. In more than 2.9 million veterans screened, HCV prevalence was 6.1% overall and highest among Blacks (11.8%), particularly Black men born in 1945 to 1965 (17.7%). HCV infection incident diagnosis in 2012 was 5.9% for men and 2.3% for women. An estimated additional 48,928 male veterans, including 12,291 Black men, and 1484 female veterans would potentially be identified as HCV infected with full birth cohort screening. CONCLUSIONS: HCV prevalence was markedly elevated among veterans born in 1945 to 1965, with substantial variation by race/ethnicity and gender. Full adoption of birth cohort screening may reveal substantial numbers of veterans with previously unknown HCV infection.
OBJECTIVES: We assessed HCV screening and prevalence among veterans and estimated the potential impact of complete birth cohort screening, accounting for the disparate HCV disease burden by race/ethnicity and gender. METHODS: We used the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Corporate Data Warehouse to identify birth dates, gender, race/ethnicity, and laboratory tests for veterans with at least 1 VA outpatient visit in 2012. We calculated HCV screening rates, prevalence, and HCV infection incident diagnosis. RESULTS: Among 5,499,743 veterans, 54.7% had HCV screening through the VA. In more than 2.9 million veterans screened, HCV prevalence was 6.1% overall and highest among Blacks (11.8%), particularly Black men born in 1945 to 1965 (17.7%). HCV infection incident diagnosis in 2012 was 5.9% for men and 2.3% for women. An estimated additional 48,928 male veterans, including 12,291 Black men, and 1484 female veterans would potentially be identified as HCV infected with full birth cohort screening. CONCLUSIONS: HCV prevalence was markedly elevated among veterans born in 1945 to 1965, with substantial variation by race/ethnicity and gender. Full adoption of birth cohort screening may reveal substantial numbers of veterans with previously unknown HCV infection.
Authors: Jason A Dominitz; Edward J Boyko; Thomas D Koepsell; Patrick J Heagerty; Charles Maynard; Jennifer L Sporleder; Andrew Stenhouse; Mitchel A Kling; William Hrushesky; Charles Zeilman; Stephen Sontag; Nikunj Shah; Fernando Ona; Bhupinder Anand; Marc Subik; Thomas F Imperiale; Samer Nakhle; Sam B Ho; Edmund J Bini; Bruce Lockhart; Jawad Ahmad; Anna Sasaki; Brian van der Linden; Doris Toro; Jaime Martinez-Souss; Vivek Huilgol; Seth Eisen; Keith A Young Journal: Hepatology Date: 2005-01 Impact factor: 17.425
Authors: M J Alter; D Kruszon-Moran; O V Nainan; G M McQuillan; F Gao; L A Moyer; R A Kaslow; H S Margolis Journal: N Engl J Med Date: 1999-08-19 Impact factor: 91.245
Authors: L B Seeff; R N Miller; C S Rabkin; Z Buskell-Bales; K D Straley-Eason; B L Smoak; L D Johnson; S R Lee; E L Kaplan Journal: Ann Intern Med Date: 2000-01-18 Impact factor: 25.391
Authors: David B Rein; John S Wittenborn; Cindy M Weinbaum; Miriam Sabin; Bryce D Smith; Sarah B Lesesne Journal: Dig Liver Dis Date: 2010-06-17 Impact factor: 4.088
Authors: Bryce D Smith; Rebecca L Morgan; Geoff A Beckett; Yngve Falck-Ytter; Deborah Holtzman; Chong-Gee Teo; Amy Jewett; Brittney Baack; David B Rein; Nita Patel; Miriam Alter; Anthony Yartel; John W Ward Journal: MMWR Recomm Rep Date: 2012-08-17
Authors: Gregory L Armstrong; Annemarie Wasley; Edgar P Simard; Geraldine M McQuillan; Wendi L Kuhnert; Miriam J Alter Journal: Ann Intern Med Date: 2006-05-16 Impact factor: 25.391
Authors: Kathleen N Ly; Jian Xing; R Monina Klevens; Ruth B Jiles; John W Ward; Scott D Holmberg Journal: Ann Intern Med Date: 2012-02-21 Impact factor: 25.391
Authors: Marian I Butterfield; Hayden B Bosworth; Karen M Stechuchak; Richard Frothingham; Lori A Bastian; Keith G Meador; Marvin Swartz; Ron D Horner Journal: J Natl Med Assoc Date: 2004-01 Impact factor: 1.798
Authors: Marissa M Maier; David B Ross; Maggie Chartier; Pamela S Belperio; Lisa I Backus Journal: Am J Public Health Date: 2015-11-12 Impact factor: 9.308
Authors: Monica A Konerman; Mary Thomson; Kristen Gray; Meghan Moore; Hetal Choxi; Elizabeth Seif; Anna S F Lok Journal: Hepatology Date: 2017-09-14 Impact factor: 17.425
Authors: Carla V Rodriguez; Kevin B Rubenstein; Benjamin Linas; Haihong Hu; Michael Horberg Journal: Am J Manag Care Date: 2018-05-01 Impact factor: 2.229
Authors: Sanyog G Shitole; Mark H Kuniholm; David B Hanna; Thomas Boucher; Angel Y Peng; Cecilia Berardi; Tina Shah; Anna E Bortnick; Panagiota Christia; James Scheuer; Jorge R Kizer Journal: Atherosclerosis Date: 2020-08-27 Impact factor: 5.162
Authors: Souvik Sarkar; Denise A Esserman; Melissa Skanderson; Forrest L Levin; Amy C Justice; Joseph K Lim Journal: J Hepatol Date: 2016-04-27 Impact factor: 25.083