Effects of hepatitis C virus on cardiovascular risk in infected patients: a comparative study.

Abstract The role of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events is unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the direct effect of HCV on cardiovascular risk and correlate it with pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines in patients with HCV. HCV monoinfected patients, genotype 1, naive, non-obese (BMI p =0.043) and DBP ( p =0.007). HDL-C ( p =0.002) was inversely correlated with the Framingham score. HCV patients had higher levels of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α) compared to controls ( p p