Reduce reported rate of hepatitis C-related deaths by 20% or more

Summary of Findings

The age-adjusted hepatitis C-related death rate increased each year from 2010–2013 but began to decline in 2014. The age-adjusted hepatitis C-related death rate decreased from 4.13 per 100,000 population in 2017 to 3.18 in 2021, below the 2021 target rate of 3.38. The overall increase in US deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020 and 2021 may have affected the hepatitis C-related death rates in these two years; therefore, 2020 and 2021 data should be interpreted with caution.

Reduction needed to meet 2025 goal:

A 6% reduction from the 2021 rate of hepatitis C-related deaths is needed to meet the 2025 goal of 3.00 deaths per 100,000 population.

Further reduction can best be achieved by:

• Increasing access to testing for hepatitis C.
• Increasing access to timely treatment that can cure hepatitis C by fostering collaborations that lower costs, simplify, provide navigation to, and integrate treatment into routine primary care.
• Building the capacity of the healthcare system by using digital technology, telemedicine, case surveillance, and Electronic Health Record options that help identify, link to care, and treat persons with hepatitis C.
• Supporting continuing medical education and implementing educational campaigns to encourage universal hepatitis C screening among adults.

Technical Notes

Data Sources:
CDC, National Vital Statistics System (NVSS)

Numerator:
Number of death records with a report of hepatitis C listed as the underlying or one of the multiple causes of death

Denominator:
Total US Census population

Indicator Notes:
Death certificates are completed for all deaths registered in the United States.¹ Information for death certificates is provided to funeral directors or cremation organizations by attending physicians, medical examiners, and coroners. Death certificates are filed in vital statistics offices within each state and the District of Columbia. Through the NVSS, information from death certificates is compiled by CDC to produce national Multiple Cause of Death data; causes of death are coded in accordance with the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision.² National Multiple Cause of Death data from NVSS were obtained and analyzed, and those death records with a report of hepatitis C (ICD-10: B17.1 or B18.2) listed as the underlying or one of the multiple (i.e., contributing) causes of death in the record were enumerated. Rates were calculated as the number of deaths related to hepatitis C among US residents of the 50 states and the District of Columbia divided by the total US Census population using the postcensal estimates of the July 1 resident population. Rates were standardized to the age distribution of the 2000 US Standard Population.³

Goal Setting:
The 2025 goal of 3.00 hepatitis C-related deaths per 100,000 population is consistent with CDC’s Division of Viral Hepatitis 2025 Strategic Plan and the US Department of Health and Human Services’ 2021–2025 Viral Hepatitis National Strategic Plan. Annual targets assume a constant (linear) rate of change from the observed baseline (2017 data year) to the 2025 goal (2023 data year). 

Limitations:
Death data must be interpreted with caution due to the potential for misclassification of ICD-10 codes on the death record, underrepresentation of certain racial/ethnic populations in US Census data, and underreporting of viral hepatitis as a cause of death on death certificates.