Kuniholm, Mark H; Lesi, Olufunmilayo A; Mendy, Maimuna; Akano, Aliu O; Sam, Omar; Hall, Andrew J; Whittle, Hilton; Bah, Ebrima; Goedert, James J; Hainaut, Pierre; +1 more... Kirk, Gregory D; (2008) Aflatoxin exposure and viral hepatitis in the etiology of liver cirrhosis in the Gambia, West Africa. Environmental health perspectives, 116 (11). pp. 1553-1557. ISSN 0091-6765 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.11661
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cirrhosis of the liver is thought to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, but few controlled studies on the etiology of cirrhosis have been conducted in this region. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to elucidate the association between environmental and infectious exposures and cirrhosis in The Gambia. METHODS: Ninety-seven individuals were diagnosed with cirrhosis using a validated ultrasound scoring system and were compared with 397 controls. Participants reported demographic and food frequency information. Blood samples were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg), hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody, HCV RNA, and the aflatoxin-associated 249(ser) TP53 mutation. RESULTS: HBsAg seropositivity was associated with a significant increase in risk of cirrhosis [odds ratio (OR) = 8.0; 95% confidence interval (CI), 4.4-14.7] as was the presence of HBeAg (OR = 10.3; 95% CI, 2.0-53.9) and HCV infection (OR = 3.3; 95% CI, 1.2-9.5). We present novel data that exposure to aflatoxin, as assessed both by high lifetime groundnut (peanut) intake and by the presence of the 249(ser) TP53 mutation in plasma, is associated with a significant increase in the risk for cirrhosis (OR = 2.8; 95% CI, 1.1-7.7 and OR = 3.8; 95% CI, 1.5-9.6, respectively). Additionally, aflatoxin and hepatitis B virus exposure appeared to interact synergistically to substantially increase the risk of cirrhosis, although this was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the spectrum of morbidity associated with aflatoxin exposure could include cirrhosis.
Item Type | Article |
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Faculty and Department | Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health > Dept of Infectious Disease Epidemiology |
PubMed ID | 19057710 |
ISI | 260521500031 |
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Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0
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