Insulin resistance is a negative predictive factor for sustained virological response in chronic hepatitis C patients

Background: The response to pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) and ribavirin (RBV) treatment in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is influenced by a number of factors. Insulin resistance (IR), hepatic steatosis and overweight is associated with poor outcome. Aim: We aimed to analyze the association between parameters of IR and the response to the antiviral treatment in CHC patients. Patients and methods: Fifty CHC patients (25 male, M/25 female, F, each genotype 1b), mean age 46.1 (18–65) years were involved into the study. Ten patients had type 2 diabetes mellitus. Body weight, BMI (body mass index), waist circumference, H…