Abstract Background The risk of viral hepatitis may increase in patients with long-term inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) due to the increased frequency of procedures with a risk of infection, such as endoscopy, blood transfusion, and surgery 1,2. There are few studies on HAV, and the results regarding HCV infection have differed between studies. We investigated whether patients with IBD in Korea have an increased risk of hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections and sought to identify the risk factors for these infections. Methods This study used data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRAS). We performed a nationwide population-based study using 2013-2021 data from the Korean National Health Insurance Claims Database. A total of 85,830 patients diagnosed with IBD (UC or CD) were enrolled between 2013 and 2021. We excluded patients who were prescribed only systemic corticosteroids, patients who had no history of prescriptions for IBD-related medications, patients whose diagnosis changed from UC to CD or vice versa, patients who had simultaneous diagnosis codes for UC and CD, and patients who were with viral hepatitis within 3 years prior to the index date. Patients with missing sex or age data were also excluded. A total of 43,513 patients, including 28,771 with UC and 14,742 with CD, were included in the study. We calculated the incidence rates and standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) of HAV and HCV infections in patients with IBD compared with the overall Korean population. Results A total of 43,513 patients were included in this study. A total of 317 cases of HAV were identified in 276,007 person-years, while 297 cases of HAV developed in the Korean general population. The SIR of HAV in the patients with IBD was 1.07 (95% Confidence Interval (CI), 0.96-1.19) and the increase of HAV infection in patients with IBD was not statistically significant. A total of 289 cases of HCV infection were identified in 276,538 person-years, while 242 cases of HCV infection developed in the Korean general population. The SIR of HCV in patients with IBD was 1.19 (95% CI, 1.06-1.34) and the increase of HCV infection in patients with Crohn’s disease (SIR 1.63; 95% CI, 1.31-2.04). Corticosteroid use was identified as a risk factor for HAV and HCV infections in patients with IBD. Conclusion HCV showed an increasing trend in Korean patients with IBD, especially those with Crohn’s disease. Corticosteroids use is a risk factor for hepatitis in patients with IBD. References: 1. Scherzer TM, Staufer K, Novacek G, et al. Efficacy and safety of antiviral therapy in patients with Crohn’s disease and chronic hepatitis C. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2008; 28(6): 742-8. 2. Villa F, Rumi MG, Signorelli C, et al. Onset of inflammatory bowel diseases during combined alpha-interferon and ribavirin therapy for chronic hepatitis C: report of two cases. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2005; 17(11): 1243-5. Conflict of interest: Dr. Park, Jinhwa: No conflict of interest Park, Sang Hyoung: No conflict of interest
Park et al. (2026) studied this question.