Subjects
This case-control study was conducted between March and July 2019 at the Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology Department of Harran University School of Medicine, Sanliurfa, Turkey. The study included 74 patients with HCV and 88 subjects without HCV infection as the control group. CHC was diagnosed based on the presence of anti-HCV antibodies and HCV-RNA positivity. Seven cases had been previously treated and relapsed, while 67 patients were treatment-naïve.
A detailed medical history of all participants was obtained, and physical examinations and laboratory tests were performed. Patients with malignancy, hematological disease, endocrine disorder (excluding diabetes mellitus), HIV infection, hepatitis A or B virus infection, liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma and other chronic liver diseases, pregnancy, antioxidant medication use, or the use of alcohol and/or vitamin supplements were excluded from the study. This study was approved by the Harran University School of Medicine Ethics Committee Commission (protocol number HRU/19.03.31). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants before blood samples were collected.