U.S. hepatitis C soars in those over 45

LOS ANGELES, March 25 (UPI) -- U.S. mortality rates for hepatitis C in people ages 45 to 54 rose 375 percent from 1995 to 2004, researchers said.

The findings, published in Hepatology, found hepatitis C rose in those ages 55 to 64 rose by 188 percent during the same period.

"Substantial increases in overall hepatitis-C-related mortality rates have occurred since 1995," the study authors said in a statement. "The relatively young age of persons dying from hepatitis C-related liver disease has made hepatitis C-related disease a leading infectious cause of years of potential life lost as well as an important cause of premature mortality overall."

Researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles County department of public health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta analyzed mortality rates from the U.S. Census and multiple-cause-of death data from 1995 to 2004 and found 56,409 hepatitis C related deaths.

Hepatitis C is the most common U.S. blood-borne infection affecting about 1.3 percent of the population. Up to 1-in-5 sufferers develop liver cirrhosis, and up to 1-in-20 develop liver cancer.