Abstract

Patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) often have increased liver iron. The distribution of pathogenic microorganisms including Candida albicans in human body mainly depend up on the concentration of iron which changes during hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. This study aimed to measure iron overload and its correlation to C. albicans infection in patients with CHC. According to the presence of C. albicans antibodies measured using, patients were classified into 40 CHC patients with C. albicans positive IgG antibodies and 40 CHC patients negative for C. albicans IgG antibodies. Serum iron, transferren saturation and ferritin were estimated using spectrophotometric analysis. C. albicans IgG antibodies were estimated in 50% (40/80) of CHC patients. Statistical analysis showed that age but not gender was associated with HCV infection and duration (P<0.001). Comparisons with demographic and laboratory parameters showed that age (P<0.001); BMI (P<0.001); HCV-RNA (P<0.002); Hb (P<0.001); ALT (P<0.001); AST (P<0.001) were all associated with C. albicans infection in HCV patients compared with both CHC and control groups. A significant increase in serum iron levels, Ferritin, Transferrin and Transferrin saturation among CHC patients with C. albicans compared to both CHC patients and control group. The increase in iron status showed a significant correlation between aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), body mass index (BMI), Age, Hb and HCV-RNA. This study finding suggests that iron overload disorder plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of C. albicans in CHC patients.

Key words: Iron overload, ferritin, transferrin saturation, hepatitis C virus- RNA (HCV-RNA), Candida albicans.