Depressive symptoms are frequent among drug users, but not associated with hepatitis C infection

To carry out a systematic review of the risk factors for, and incidence of, major depressive episode (MDE) related to antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C. The MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Cochrane databases were searched to locate articles published from the earliest available online year until June 2011 using the keywords hepatitis C, interferon-alpha, peginterferon, pegylated interferon, depression, and mood and Boolean operators. Articles written in English, Spanish, and French were included. Prospective studies reporting incidence of interferon-alpha-induced MDE were included. At baseline, patients did not present a DSM-IV/ICD depressive episode, and evaluation was performed by a trained clinician. Twenty-six observational studies met the inclusion criteria. Extracted data included authors, year of publication, design, characteristics of the population, viral coinfection, adjunctive psychopharmacology, instruments to assess depression, dose and type of interferon-alpha, adjunctive ribavirin treatment, and follow-up time. Outcome of incidence of MDE (primary outcome measure) was abstracted, as were potential predictive variables. A full review was performed. Meta-analysis of the cumulative incidence of induced MDE as a function of time was carried out. Odds ratios (ORs) and mean differences were used to estimate the strength of association of variables. Overall cumulative incidence of depression was 0.25 (95% CI, 0.16 to 0.35) and 0.28 (95% CI, 0.17 to 0.42) at 24 and 48 weeks of treatment, respectively. According to our analysis, high baseline levels of interleukin 6 (mean difference = 1.81; 95% CI, 1.09 to 2.52), female gender (OR = 1.40; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.91), history of MDE (OR = 3.96; 95% CI, 2.52 to 6.21), history of psychiatric disorder (OR = 3.18; 95% CI, 1.60 to 6.32), subthreshold depressive symptoms (mean difference = 0.96; 95% CI, 0.31 to 1.61), and low educational level (mean difference = -0.99; 95% CI, -1.59 to -0.39) were predictive variables of MDE during antiviral treatment. One in 4 chronic hepatitis C patients who start interferon and ribavirin treatment will develop an induced major depressive episode. Clinicians should attempt a full evaluation of patients before starting antiviral treatment in order to identify those at risk of developing interferon-induced depression. © Copyright 2012 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) accounts for approximately 20% of cases of acute hepatitis, 70% of chronic hepatitis, and 30% of end-stage liver disease in the United States. The acute infection has an incubation period of 7 weeks (range, 4-20 weeks) and is symptomatic and icteric in only one third of patients. Serum aminotransferase levels generally increase greater than 10-fold elevated and as symptoms and signs resolve decrease into the normal range. Antibody to HCV is usually but not always present at the time of onset of symptoms. HCV RNA appears in the serum early during the incubation period, increases in titer and peaks at the time of symptoms, and then disappears in resolving disease. Importantly, 85% of patients with acute HCV infection develop chronic infection. In these patients, HCV RNA remains present and in approximately two thirds of patients, aminotransferases remain elevated in the range of 1.5- to 10-fold the upper limit of normal. The course of chronic hepatitis C is variable. Probably fewer than 20% of patients have symptoms and they are usually intermittent, vague, and nonspecific, largely being malaise and easy fatiguability. A small percentage of patients develop extrahepatic manifestations of hepatitis C, including cryoglobulinemia and glomerulonephritis. It is estimated that 20% to 30% of patients with chronic hepatitis C develop cirrhosis, but the process is generally slow and insidious. Once cirrhosis develops, symptoms are more common and the signs of end-stage liver disease can appear with jaundice, weakness, wasting, and gastrointestinal bleeding. Patients with cirrhosis are also at risk for developing hepatocellular carcinoma. Thus, this important liver disease has protean manifestations but is often insidious and can lead to end-stage liver disease despite the presence of few symptoms and signs of illness.