Successful treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) is associated with a diminished risk of liver disease and death. Publishing their findings in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers conducted an observational cohort study in which they measured time to death or to a number of liver disease diagnoses among a sample of 28,769 people with hep C drawn from a Veterans Affairs database that includes medical records from 1999 onward.

A total of 24.3 percent of the cohort received treatment for hep C, 16.4 percent of whom (4 percent of the entire cohort) achieved a sustained virologic response, which is considered a cure. The researchers found that curing hep C lowered the risk of any of the liver disease diagnoses by 27 percent and the risk of death by 45 percent. Those with genotype 2 of the virus had a lower risk of liver disease or death when compared with those with genotype 1. African-American members of the cohort, meanwhile, were at lower risk of the liver disease events than the white members.

To read the study, click here.

Editor’s note: a previous version of this article incorrectly stated that, following a cure, those with genotype 2 were at higher risk of death when compared with those with genotype 1.  The study actually found the opposite.