Title
Disparities in hepatitis C virus infection screening among Baby Boomers in the United States
Publication Date
12-1-2018
Publication Name
American Journal of Infection Control
Document Type
Article
Volume
46
Issue
12
First Page
1341
Last Page
1347
DOI
10.1016/j.ajic.2018.06.008
Abstract
© 2018 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Background: The study objective was to identify potential sociodemographic disparities in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection screening among Baby Boomers in the United States. Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from the 2013-2016 National Health Interview Survey. The outcome was whether a person had an HCV infection screening (yes/no). Key independent variables were race/ethnicity, geographic region, poverty level, education level, and health insurance status. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to examine the factors associated with the receipt of HCV screening. Results: The study sample included a total of 41,914 United States Baby Boomers, who represented a population size of 69,554,339. In 2016, the HCV screening rate among Baby Boomers was 13.9%. In the multivariate logistic regression, we found that Asians had 27% lower odds of receiving an HCV screening compared to Blacks (odds ratio [OR] = 0.74, P =.02). People who lived in the Northeast, South, and West had a higher likelihood of having an HCV screening than those who lived in the Midwest (OR = 1.33, 1.39, and 1.69, respectively; all P values <.001). Additionally, people with less education, lower income, and private health insurance were significantly less likely to have an HCV screening. Conclusion: Future studies or interventions are needed to target these disadvantaged populations to improve HCV screening in Baby Boomers.