Type 2 Diabetes and Hepatitis C: Partners in Crime?
Research presented at the 10th International Symposium on Viral Hepatitis and Liver Disease revealed that Type 2 diabetes may be associated with hepatitis C infection.
According to research gathered from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, hepatitis C-infected subjects were four times more likely to have type 2 diabetes than those without hepatitis C.
Researchers feel this correlation might be caused by a combination of factors. Hepatitis C virus has been shown to replicate outside the liver and in the pancreas, so it is speculated that it may be causing beta cell dysfunction.
The researchers found no association, however, between hepatitis C infection and type 1 diabetes. Similarly, they found no association between the hepatitis B virus infection and diabetes, type 1 or 2.