Prevalence of depression in untreated patients of hepatitis c

Background: Hepatitis C virus infection is a public health problem worldwide, clinicians are suggesting that it may be associated with the depression even if there is no interferon therapy started

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Objective: To assess the prevalence of depression in untreated patients of Hepatitis C

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Place and Duration of Study: This despriptive study was conducted in the Department of Medicine, Bahawal Victoria Hospital and Quaid-e-Azam Medical College, Bahawalpur, from January 4, 2012 to April 9, 2012

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Patients and Methods: The sample consisted of 100 patients visiting Outpatient Department [Male 42, Female 58], pre-diagnosed HCV positive, not getting any treatment for Hepatitis C. They were interviewed and results were analyzed using SPSS version 16, from the entries in a Performa and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression

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Results: Mean age of our patients was 37.82 years. Depression was found in 38% of the patients, 12% patients had mild depression, 20% patients had moderate depression, 4% patients had severe depression and 2% patients had very severe depression

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Conclusion: Our study corroborates presence of depression among patients who did not take any treatment for Hepatitis C, suggesting that depression may also caused by disease process itself