The Impact Of Socio-Economic Factors On The Prevalence Of Hepatitis C: A Case Study Of a Public Sector Hospital In Lahore, Pakistan

Abstract

Hepatitis C is one of the major and global health problems affecting millions of people every year, particularly in developing countries. Around 11 million people are infected with Hepatitis C, leading to high mortality in Pakistan. Limited information is available regarding the impact of socio-economic factors on the prevalence of Hepatitis C virus (HCV). The objective of our study is to investigate the socio-economic characteristics of HCV patients and analyze the impact of socioeconomic factors on the spread and prevalence of hepatitis C by utilizing clinical data of 350 respondents. To analyze the impact of socio-economic factors on the prevalence of hepatitis C by utilizing clinical data of 350 respondents. For this purpose, we have used Binary Logistics regression because our dependent variable is categorical with two possible outcomes i.e prevalence of HCV is positive and prevalence of HCV is negative. The results show that older respondents aged 30-50 years are more likely to have HCV than younger respondents. The educated people are less likely to have HCV than those who are  uneducated. Similarly, those people who belong to rich families are less likely to have HCV as compared to the poor families. The unemployed persons are more likely to be infected with HCV than those who are currently employed. The likelihood of a family history of HCV indicates that people having a family history of HCV are more likely to be infected with HCV. The people having knowledge about HCV are less likely to have HCV. The history of injectable drug use is also affecting the prevalence of hepatitis C. We conclude that education, income and employment are the major socio-economic variables affecting the prevalence of hepatitis C. The main reasons for the rapid spread of this disease is injectable drug use.

Keywords

Prevalence of hepatitis C, Family history of HCV, History of Injectable drug use, Pakistan