The burden of hepatitis C infection in a Southern Brazilian State

Abstract INTRODUCTION: The study aimed to estimate the burden of hepatitis C in Santa Catarina, Brazil. METHODS An ecologic study was carried out to estimate the disability-adjusted life years (DALY) by summing the number of years of life lost and the number of years lived with disability. RESULTS A rate of 1,075.9 DALY/100,000 population was estimated, and was similar by sex. The highest burden was between the ages of 45 to 59 years and in the Grande Oeste region. CONCLUSIONS The burden of hepatitis C was high and concentrated in adult age groups with variations among regions.