• Milena Fioravante, Sarah Monte Alegre, Daniela Miguel Marin, Sonia Leticia Silva Lorena, Tiago Sevá Pereira, and Elza Cotrim Soares.
• Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas/UNICAMP, Sao Paulo, Brazil. mi_fioravante@yahoo.com.br
• Nutrition. 2012 Jun 1;28(6):630-4.

ObjectiveInfection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a serious public health problem worldwide. In clinical studies, weight loss has been reported in 11% to 29% of patients treated with pegylated interferon-α-2a/2b. Few reports have tried to explain such a weight loss. The aim of this study was to evaluate nutritional status, body composition, and resting energy expenditure (REE) in patients with chronic hepatitis C before and during treatment with pegylated interferon and ribavirin.MethodsThis was a prospective study with the evaluation of patients with hepatitis C virus before and after 12 wk of treatment with pegylated interferon and ribavirin. The evaluation consisted of anthropometry (weight, height, body mass index, and waist circumference), and body composition was determined by bioelectrical impedance analysis. The REE of each individual was obtained by indirect calorimetry. To compare the two phases of treatment, the Wilcoxon test was used. The significance level was 5%.ResultsSubjects had significant weight loss during treatment with a consequent decrease in body mass index. This weight decrease was accompanied by a significant decrease in body fat and no decrease in fat-free mass. There was a significant decrease in energy intake as assessed by 24-h recall. However, there was no change in REE and in REE corrected for fat-free mass.ConclusionOur study of patients with hepatitis C treatment showed that these patients had significant weight loss and this was not associated with changes in energy expenditure. However, we observed a significant decrease in energy intake, pointing to a possible need for intervention measures to decrease the damage.Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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