The incidence of serious chronic kidney disease was similarly elevated for people who had cleared HCV infection and those with ongoing HCV viral replication. Both groups also had a similar risk of experiencing kidney disease progression.
“Unexpectedly, we found that prior HCV infection was associated with excess CKD [chronic kidney disease] risk irrespective of the presence or absence of HCV viremia [detectable viral load],” comment the authors. “Our results suggest that chronic HCV viremia is not the primary factor mediating increased CKD risk in HIV-infected persons with prior HCV exposure.”
Between a quarter and a third of people living with HIV in the United States also have HCV (co-infection). Epidemiological data suggest that infection with HCV is linked to an increased risk of chronic kidney disease and renal failure in both the general population and individuals with HIV.
A proportion of people spontaneously clear HCV infection and HCV can also be cured with antiviral treatment. A team of investigators from the United States and Canada wanted to explore the association between chronic HCV infection – ongoing HCV replication – and the risk of chronic kidney disease.
They therefore compared the incidence of kidney disease in a cohort of 63,000 people according to HCV exposure status: negative for HCV antibodies (HCV uninfected); ongoing HCV replication (viraemic); antibodies to HCV but no detectable HCV viral load (aviraemic).
