Association of Cognitive Impairment With Chronic Viral Hepatitis Among Older Adults in Taiwan

Abstract

To evaluate the risk of cognitive impairment among patients with chronic viral hepatitis. A cross-sectional study. Population-based. Individuals 60 years or older were enrolled from the Taiwan Biobank database from 2012. Hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infections. Cognitive impairment was evaluated using the mini-mental state examination (MMSE). Logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The effects of APOE ε4 polymorphisms on the association between viral hepatitis and the risk of cognitive impairment were also investigated. We recruited 912 participants with cognitive impairment and 22 869 participants without cognitive impairment. The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for cognitive impairment was 1.38 (95% CI: 1.03-1.85, p=0.033) among participants with hepatitis C virus infection and 1.14 (95% CI: 0.91-1.43, p=0.257) among participants with hepatitis B virus infection. Participants with hepatitis C virus infection and without hepatitis B virus infection had a higher risk of cognitive impairment (aOR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.13-2.04, p=0.006). The MMSE subcategories most associated with hepatitis C virus infection were orientation and design copying. The association between hepatitis C virus infection and cognitive impairment was higher among participants with ε4 alleles of the APOE gene than among those without alleles (aOR: 2.18, 95% CI: 1.21-3.91, p=0.009). Our findings suggest that individuals 60 years or older with chronic hepatitis C virus infection are at increased risk of cognitive impairment.