MULTIVARIABLE MODELLING OF PREDICTORS OF HEPATITIS C VIRUS SEROPOSITIVITY IN HIV-INFECTED INDIVIDUALS IN NORTH-CENTRAL NIGERIA
Article Sidebar
-
Hepatitis C virus, HIV, CD4+, Co-infection, Multivariable
Abstract
This study investigates the co-infection of HCV and its risk factors amongst HIV-positive patients in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. Consenting HIV-positive individuals (n=188) from the HAART clinic at Sobi Specialist Hospital participated. Data was collected via structured questionnaire while Anti-HCV antibodies were determined via a 3rd-generation ELISA kit (Diagnostic Automation Inc., USA). SPSS version 21 and R-Studio 4.5.1 were used for the data analysis and multivariable logistic regression model analysis after adjusting for confounding variables at p≤ 0.05 and 95%CI for statistical significance. Participants average was 31.47±7.79 years comprising 41.5% and 58.5%. HCV seropositivity was 8.5%. Significant association with HCV infection included age (p < 0.001-AOR:4.28-CI:1.82-10.13) and marital status (p=0.026-AOR:2.65-CI:1.14-6.18). Clinically, history of jaundice (p=0.028- AOR:3.45-CI:1.09-10.84) and recent blood transfusion (p = 0.030) were also significant risk factors; whereas, surgery, tattooing, homosexual practices, and injection drug use were not. HCV-positivity was common among participants with low CD4 counts (<500 cells/mm³) at p=0.94). Similarly, anti-retroviral therapy (ART) duration showed no significant association to HCV status. This study confirms the occurrence of HIV/HCV co-infection in Ilorin, emphasizing the roles of specific sociodemographic and clinical variables. Routine HCV screening within HIV care is recommended to enable early diagnosis, optimize management and improve patient outcomes.
Full text article
References
Adesegun, O. A., Olaniran, O. H., Bamidele, E., Inyang, J. N., Adegbe, M., Binuyo, T. O., Ehioghae, O., Adeyemi, O., Oyebisi, O., Idowu, A. O., & Ajose, O. (2020). HIV-hepatitis co-infection in a rural community in Northern Nigeria. Pan African Medical Journal, 36(352), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj.2020.36.352.23978
Aneke, J.C. & Okocha, C.E. (2017). Blood transfusion safety; current status and challenges in Nigeria. Asian J Transfus Sci.11(1):1-5. doi: 10.4103/0973-6247.200781.
Daw, M. A., El-Bouzedi, A. A., Ahmed, M. O., Dau, A. A., Agnan, M. M., & Drah, A. M. (2016). Geographic integration of hepatitis C virus: A global threat. World Journal of Virology, 5(4), 170–182. https://doi.org/10.5501/wjv.v5.i4.170
Gamawa, Z. R., Shehu, K., & Moi, I. M. (2024). Prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis B and C co-infection and their correlation with CD4 cells and liver enzymes in HIV patients at a teaching hospital in Nigeria. SN Comprehensive Clinical Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42399-025-01778-7
Gedefie, A., Adamu, A., Alemayehu, E., Kassa, Y., & Belete, M. A. (2021). Hepatitis C virus infection among HIV-infected patients attending Dessie Referral Hospital, Northeastern Ethiopia. International Journal of Microbiology, 2021, 6675851. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6675851
Graham, C. S., Baden, L. R., Yu, E., Mrus, J. M., Carnie, J., Heeren, T., & Koziel, M. J. (2001). Influence of human immunodeficiency virus infection on the course of hepatitis C virus infection: A meta-analysis. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 33(4), 562–569. https://doi.org/10.1086/321909
Hernandez, M. D., & Sherman, K. E. (2011). HIV/hepatitis C coinfection natural history and disease progression. Current opinion in HIV and AIDS, 6(6), 478–482. https://doi.org/10.1097/COH.0b013e32834bd365
La, T. P., & Deschênes, M. (2007). Mode of transmission, rather than the hepatitis C virus, as a major determinant of poor interpersonal relationships in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology, 21(12), 815–819. https://doi.org/10.1155/2007/135414
Nnakenyi, I. D., Uchechukwu, C., & Nto-Ezimah, U. (2020). Prevalence of hepatitis B and C virus co-infection in HIV-positive patients attending a health institution in Southeast Nigeria. African Health Sciences, 20(2), 579–586. https://doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v20i2.5
Odeghe, E., Oyeleke, G., Odofin, M., Duguru, M., Davwar, P., Nyam, D., Lesi, O., Okeke, E., Adelabu, H., Odukoya, O., Akanmu, A., Adeyemo, W., Abdulkareem, F., Imade, G., Joyce, B., Khan, I., Chandler, A., Sagay, A., Murphy, R., & Hawkins, C. (2024). Hepatitis B and C virus co-infection and their association with liver disease in persons with HIV in Nigeria. Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, 23, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1177/23259582241292511
Okonko, I., & Shaibu, N. (2023). Evidence of HIV/HCV co-infection among people living with HIV/AIDS attending Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, Nigeria. medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.03.08.23286986
Okwuraiwe, A. P., Audu, R. A., Ige, F. A., Salu, O. B., Onwuamah, C. K., & Musa, A. Z. (2021). Long-term outcomes of highly active antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected Nigerians and those co-infected with hepatitis B and C viruses. African Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology, 22(1), 67–73. https://doi.org/10.4314/ajcem.v22i1.9
Romano, C. M., de Carvalho-Mello, I. M. V. G., Jamal, L. F., de Melo, F. L., Iamarino, A., Motoki, M., et al. (2010). Social networks shape the transmission dynamics of hepatitis C virus. PLoS ONE, 5(6), e11170. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0011170
Spera, A. M., Pagliano, P., & Conti, V. (2024). Hepatitis C virus eradication in people living with human immunodeficiency virus: Where are we now? World Journal of Hepatology, 16(5), 661–666. https://doi.org/10.4254/wjh.v16.i5.661
Taye, S., & Lakew, M. (2013). Impact of hepatitis C virus co-infection on HIV patients before and after highly active antiretroviral therapy: An immunological and clinical chemistry observation, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. BMC Immunology, 14, 23. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2172-14-23
Ugwu, C. H., Oketah, E. N., Okerentugba, P. O., & Frank-N. (2023). Co-infection of hepatitis C among HIV-infected patients: A cross-sectional study from a university teaching hospital in Anambra State, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Medical Sciences, 2–8.
Vlasova, V., Saidakova, E., Korolevskaya, L., Shmagel, N. & Shmagel, K. (2025). Assessment of CD4+ T cell recovery after direct-acting antiviral hepatitis C treatment in HIV/HCV coinfected immunological nonresponders to ART. Explor Med. 6,1001323. https://doi.org/10.37349/emed.2025.1001323
Warssamo, B. B. (2025). Generalized linear modeling of HCV infection among medical waste handlers in Sidama Region, Ethiopia. Frontiers in Epidemiology, 4, 1485482. https://doi.org/10.3389/fepid.2024.1485482
World Health Organization (WHO). (2019). Global hepatitis report 2019. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/global-hepatitis-report-2019
Authors
Copyright (c) 2026 Odebisi-Omokanye Mutiat Busayo, Suleiman Muhammed Mustapha, Abdulazeez-Bukoye Hafsat Damilola, Salaudeen Aminat Omotoke
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License [CC BY-NC-SA 4.0] that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work, with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online.