Prevalence of Hepatitis C Testing Among Non-Institutionalized Individuals in the US, NHIS 2013-2017

• Authors: Jae Eui Soh, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Mohammed Khan, Emory University; William W. Thompson, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Lauren Canary, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Claudia Vellozzi, Emory University; Noele P. Nelson, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Journal Title: Online Journal of Public Health Informatics
• Volume: Volume 11, Number 1
• Publisher: University of Illinois at Chicago | 2019-01-01
• Type of Work: Article | Final Publisher PDF
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.5210/ojphi.v11i1.9945
• Subjects: Health Sciences, Public Health
• Keywords: self-reported hepatitis C; blood-borne disease; liver; morbidity and mortality; baby boomer

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the most common blood-borne disease in the US and the leading cause of liver-related morbidity and mortality. Approximately 3.5 million individuals in the US were estimated to have been living with hepatitis C in 2010 and approximately half of them were unaware that they were infected. Among HCV infected individuals, those born between 1945 and 1965 (usually referred to as the baby boomer cohort) represents approximately 75% of current cases. Because of the substantial burden of disease among this age group, CDC expanded its existing hepatitis C risk-based testing recommendations to include a one-time HCV antibody test for all persons born between 1945 and 1965. The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) subsequently made the same recommendation in June 2013.