Investigation of Interleukin- 22 and The Prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus among Hepatitis C Infected Patients

Abstract

Background: The hepatitis C virus causes a lot of deaths and illnesses across the world. It accounts for almost 20% of hepatocellular carcinoma and chronic liver disease patients. In addition to causing liver illness, hepatitis C virus infection may produce extrahepatic symptoms, such as autoimmune diseases. Type 2 diabetes is more common in these individuals. There is strong evidence to support this theory, since research has shown that hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected individuals are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Aim of the study: Estimation of IL-22 and the prevalence of DM in HCV patients. Material and Methods: It is a case-control study that was held in the Najaf governorate between July  2023 and December 2023 with a sample size of 128 subjects. The subject group included 128 (41 males and 23 females) HCV-infected patients, and the control group attended the Specialized Center for Gastroenterology and Hepatology and the public health laboratory. Their ages ranged from 26 to 70 years.  We used ELISA Tanique for the estimation of IL-22, HCV IgG, and HbA1c and the estimation of AST, ALT, and ALP in a spectrophotometer. The SPSS software package for Windows, version 27 (Build 27.0.1.0, copyright © IBM Corp., 2022, USA), was used to analyze the data. Conclusion: The hepatitis C virus led to an increase in IL-22 in HCV-infected patients and uncontrolled HbA1c with an increase in liver enzyme, and males were more likely to increase IL-22 than females.