Short-Term Incidence of Sequelae of HCV Infection Among Medicaid Beneficiaries in Oregon.

OBJECTIVES

Given the known high morbidity and mortality of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Oregon, we sought to develop a practical method of estimating the severe sequelae of HCV infection among Medicaid beneficiaries in Oregon.

METHODS

We assembled a retrospective cohort that identified all Oregon Medicaid beneficiaries with HCV infection enrolled for at least 1 year during 2009-2013. We linked this cohort to 3 data sets to identify HCV-related deaths, cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and first hospitalizations for advanced liver disease (ALD). We calculated incidence density rates and used multivariable Cox regression modeling to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) to evaluate the association between demographic characteristics (birth year, sex, race, ethnicity) and these 3 outcomes.

RESULTS

Of 11 790 Oregon Medicaid beneficiaries with HCV infection, 474 (4.0%) had an HCV-related death, 156 (1.3%) had HCC, and 596 (5.1%) had a first hospitalization for ALD. Adjusted hazard ratios for deaths were 2.2 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6-2.8) among persons born in 1945 through 1965 (vs persons born after 1965), 2.1 (95% CI, 1.7-2.5) among males (vs females), and 1.9 (95% CI, 1.2-2.9) among Asian/Pacific Islanders and 2.2 (95% CI, 1.5-3.2) among American Indian/Alaska Natives (vs white persons). The same risk groups had significant aHRs for first hospitalizations for ALD. Persons born before 1945 (aHR = 17.0; 95% CI, 5.2-55.8) and in 1945 through 1965 (aHR = 12.8; 95% CI, 4.1-40.3) vs born after 1965, males (aHR = 3.3; 95% CI, 2.3-4.8) vs females, and Asian/Pacific Islanders (aHR = 3.9; 95% CI, 2.3-6.7) vs white persons had higher risks for HCC.

CONCLUSIONS

Continued assessments using the methods piloted in this study will allow Oregon to monitor trends in severe sequelae of HCV infection over time.