Significant Decline in HCV‐Related Mortality From Liver Cirrhosis and Chronic Liver Disease (2015–2022): A Sentinel Center Study

Background Reducing mortality attributable to hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a key target in the World Health Organization (WHO) HCV elimination strategy. While liver cancer registration in Taiwan includes hepatitis C antibody (anti‐HCV) status, no national registry records viral etiologies for deaths from liver cirrhosis and chronic liver disease (LC/CLD). Therefore, this sentinel study aimed to estimate national trends in HCV‐related LC/CLD mortality. Methods The study period spanned from 2015 to 2022. According to ICD‐10 codes K70, K73 and K74, the annual mortality numbers for LC/CLD were extracted from national biostatistics. Using the Chang Gung Research Database (CGRD), cases that died from LC/CLD with available results for both HBsAg and anti‐HCV tests were included in the analysis. Based on the proportions of HCV distributions from CGRD, the national viral etiology‐specific case numbers were estimated using a direct standardised method. Results A total of 35 413 patients died from LC/CLD nationally, with 15 445 of them having medical records in CGRD, and 5940 (16.8%) having results for both HBsAg and anti‐HCV tests. The national case number was 4878 in 2015, decreasing to 4107 (−15.8%) in 2022. The proportion of anti‐HCV decreased from 25.7% to 16.6% (−36.2%). Direct standardisation showed that the estimated national case number for anti‐HCV decreased from 1424 to 811 (−43%). Conclusions From 2015 to 2022, Taiwan experienced a 43% decline in HCV‐related LC/CLD mortality, supporting progress toward national HCV elimination goals.