Takeaway
- HCV is associated with an increased risk for parkinsonism that is attenuated by antiviral treatment.
Why this matters
- Findings add to mounting evidence of a link between HCV and Parkinson’s disease.
Key results
- Parkinsonism incidence was higher among patients with HCV vs control patients (492 vs 403 per 100,000 person-years; P<.0001).
- HCV was tied to increased risks for (all P<.001):
- Parkinsonism (aHR=1.306);
- Requiring anti-Parkinson medication (aHR=1.323); and
- Parkinson’s disease (aHR=1.203).
- Parkinsonism risk remained elevated after excluding patients diagnosed within 1 year (aHR=1.367; P<.001) or 3 years (aHR=1.453; P<.001) of HCV diagnosis.
- In HCV subanalysis, incidence of parkinsonism was lower among treated patients (153 vs 253 per 100,000 person-years; P<.0001).
- HCV antivirals were associated with lower risk for (all P<.001):
- Parkinsonism (aHR=0.618);
- Requiring anti-Parkinson medication (aHR=0.651); and
- Parkinson’s disease (aHR=0.589).
- Parkinsonism risk remained lower after excluding patients in the first year (aHR=0.654; P<.001).
- Extensive sensitivity analyses confirmed findings.
Study design
- Case-control study of 49,342 HCV-infected patients propensity-matched 1:1 with non-HCV ‘controls’ from the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database (2004-2012).
- HCV subanalysis: 23,647 patients receiving ≥24 weeks of peginterferon-ribavirin were matched 1:1 with untreated patients.
- Funding: Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology, Liver Disease Prevention & Treatment Research Foundation of Taiwan, other institutions.
Limitations
- Observational design based on claims data.
References
References
