Abstract
Background: Viral hepatitis C is a chronic liver disease caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV) which can trigger autoimmune responses. We aimed to investigate the frequency of rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptides autoantibodies (CCP-Ab) in Tunisian patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Materials and Methods: Sera of 88 patients with CHC were collected over a period of two years. RF and CCP-Ab were performed by indirect ELISA. Ninety healthy blood donors (HBD) served as control group. Results:. Serological markers of RA were more frequent in CHC patients than in HBD (50% versus 7.8%, p<10-6). CCP-Ab were significantly more frequent in patients with CHC than in HBD (p=0.03). RF were significantly more frequent than CCP-Ab in patients with CHC (p<10-5). CCP-Ab or RF were significantly more frequent in female patients than in male patients (p=0.03). RF-IgA and CCP-Ab levels were positively correlated with age (r=0.317, p=0.01 and r=0.353, p=0.005 respectively). RA serological markers were significantly more frequent in patients with cirrhosis than in patients without cirrhosis (p=0.03). Conclusion: The current study has shown that CHC is associated with a high frequency of serological markers of rheumatoid arthritis.
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Copyright (c) 2025 MARIAM ghozzi, Amani Mankai, Ouafa Kallala, Sarra Melayah, Zeineb Chedly, Fatma Mechi, Abdelhalim Trabelsi, Ibtissem Ghedira