Liver stiffness and associated risk factors among people with a history of injecting drugs: a prospective cohort study

Background:

People who have problems with using opioids or other drugs and inject them have shorter lives than most people. Liver diseases, especially, contribute to this. Checking liver stiffness might help find liver problems early. This study looks at how common liver disease is in people who use drugs and how different factors like types of drugs used, hepatitis C, alcohol, weight, age, diabetes, and cholesterol affect liver stiffness.

Methods:

From May 2017 to March 2022, data was collected from 676 people in Western Norway. Most were getting treatment for opioid addiction, while some weren't. Their liver stiffness was checked at least once. A statistical model was used to see how factors like hepatitis C, alcohol, lifestyle, and drug use affected liver stiffness over time.

Results:

At the start, 12% of the people had signs of serious liver disease. Getting older, drinking alcohol often, having hepatitis C, low good cholesterol, and being heavier were linked to higher liver stiffness. People who had hepatitis C that went away over time had less liver stiffness each year.

Conclusions:

Over 10% of the people in the study had signs of serious liver disease. This shows the importance of treating hepatitis C and reducing things like drinking and weight to stop liver problems from getting worse in people who use drugs.