Factors associated with early virological response to peginterferon-α-2a/ribavirin in chronic hepatitis C

Table 1 Patient baseline characteristics n (%)

Characteristics
Patient sociodemographics
Sex
Male	712 (70)
Female	302 (30)
Age (yr), mean ± SD	44.3 ± 9.8
Nationality
Spanish	919 (91)
Other	93 (9)
Race
Caucasian	980 (97)
Other	27 (3)
Educational level
Did not complete compulsory education	125 (12)
Compulsory education	506 (50)
Professional training	243 (24)
University	131 (13)
Postgraduate/Master/PhD	7 (1)
Marital status
Single	280 (28)
Married	580 (58)
Separated	138 (14)
Widowed	11 (1)
Family status
Lives with another person	898 (89)
Lives alone	97 (10)
Prison inmate	16 (2)
Clinical characteristics
Weight (kg), mean ± SD	75.7 ± 13.4
Alcohol consumption	154 (15)
Tobacco consumption	514 (51)
Source of HCV infection1
IVDU	256 (25)
Transfusion	234 (23)
Other	55 (6)
Unknown	462 (46)
Methadone replacement therapy	65 (7)
ALT (IU/mL), mean ± SD	88.4 ± 69.7
AST (IU/mL), mean ± SD	73.9 ± 64.4
GGT (IU/mL), mean ± SD	82.0 ± 91.6
Ferritin (μg/L), mean ± SD	266.0 ± 284.8
Cirrhosis	62 (6.2)
HCV genotype
1/4	784 (78)
2/3	223 (22)
HCV-RNA
< 400 000 IU/mL	264 (26)
≥ 400 000 IU/mL	744 (73)

¹One patient could have more than one presumed source of infection. Data are presented as number (percentage) of patients unless otherwise indicated. Proportions of patients are presented as valid percentages. Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding error. Values for age, weight and serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) and ferritin are expressed as mean ± SD. IVDUs: Intravenous drug users; HCV RNA: Hepatitis C virus ribonucleic acid.