***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
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    Input: OBJECTIVES : Although sexual dysfunction has been reported in patients with hepatitis C virus ( HCV ) infection , little is known about this association . The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of sexual dysfunction among men with chronic HCV infection and to evaluate the impact of sexual dysfunction on health-related quality of life ( HRQOL ) . METHODS : We prospect ively enrolled 112 HCV positive men and 239 HCV negative controls , and all patients completed vali date d question naires to assess sexual function ( Brief Male Sexual Function Inventory [ BMSFI ] ) , depression ( Beck Depression Inventory )  , and HRQOL ( Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 )  . The BMSFI assessed sexual drive , erection , ejaculation , sexual problem assessment , and overall sexual satisfaction . RESULTS : HCV positive men had significantly more sexual dysfunction than control subjects across all five domains of the BMFSI . In addition , HCV-infected men were significantly more likely than controls to not be sexually satisfied ( 53.6 % vs 28.9 % , p < 0.001 ) and this remained statistically significant after adjusting for age , race , and other potential confounding variables ( OR = 3.36 ; 95 % CI , 1.59–7.13 ) . In the 241 individuals without depression , HCV positive men were significantly more likely to not be sexually satisfied as compared with control subjects ( 47.5 % vs 11.0 % , p < 0.001 ) . HCV-infected men who were not sexually satisfied scored significantly worse in six of eight domains of HRQOL as compared with HCV-infected men who were sexually satisfied . CONCLUSIONS : Sexual dysfunction is highly prevalent in men with chronic HCV infection , is independent of depression , and is associated with a marked reduction in HRQOL Background : The aim of this prospect i ve study was to gain a more comprehensive picture of the biopsychosocial effects of  interferon-α ( IFN-α ) treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C ( HCV ) . The predictors of depressive development and changes in health-related quality of life , life satisfaction and cognitive ability were measured with the inclusion of the social context . Furthermore , the effects of IFN-α treatment on indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase , the level of tryptophan supply in the brain , the development of neurotoxic kynurenine metabolites and the thyroid gl and s were investigated . Therefore , for the first time the conditions for the development of depressive episodes in HCV patients treated with IFN-α  were examined over the entire period of treatment as well as 3 months later , applying a holistic biopsychosocial model . Method : Psychiatric and biological assessment s were carried out at 6 different times : before , during ( at 1 , 3 , 6 and 9 months ) and after the end of IFN-α treatment . Results : During IFN-α treatment 22 ( 53.7 % ) of 41 patients fulfilled the criteria for a treatment-related depressive disorder at least once during treatment . Contributing factors are tryptophan depletion ( tryptophan to competing amino acids quotient ) , increased neurotoxic challenge ( kynurenine to kynurenic acid quotient ) , less social support , female gender , preexisting psychiatric vulnerability , means of transmission , low financial security , impaired sexual satisfaction , small circle of friends , impaired physical role , strong body pain , low general health and vitality , reduced social functioning , impaired mental health and impaired emotional role . Conclusions : The awareness of relevant risk factors of IFN-α treatment-induced depression is essential to develop preventative treatment strategies Purpose Peg-interferon (PegIFN)α2a or PegIFNα2b plus ribavirin ( RBV ) is the st and ard therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus ( HCV ) infection in Taiwan and Asia . It is commonly associated with adverse effects , but the issue of sexual and mental health is not well reported . This study aim ed to evaluate the impact of anti-viral therapy with PegIFNα plus RBV on sexual desire and depression . Methods This prospect i ve cohort study from 2009 to 2014 enrolled 181 patients with HCV who received PegIFNα2a ( 180 mcg/week ) or PegIFNα2b ( 1.5 mcg/Kg/week ) plus RBV ( 800–1200 mg/day ) according to response-guide therapy for 24 to 48 weeks in a tertiary medical center . Patients with decreased sexual desire ( DSD ) before PegIFNα plus RBV were excluded . Patients were evaluated at baseline ( week 0 ) and after 2 , 4 , 8 , 12 , 16 , 20 , and 24 weeks of PegIFNα plus RBV treatment using the structured Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview , for the diagnosis of a major depressive episode , and the 21-item Beck Depression Inventory ( BDI ) , for monitoring depressive symptoms . The 21st item of the BDI was used to evaluate DSD . Results During therapy , 124 ( 68.5 % ) patients had DSD . The BDI score peaked at 14.8 weeks . The severity of DSD was greatest at 16 weeks of treatment . The average score of the 21st item of the BDI correlated with DSD . Depression history and the prevalence of subsequent major depressive disorder after anti-viral therapy was correlated to DSD ( p = 0.05 and 0.001 ) . Male patients complained of DSD more significantly than females ( p = 0.031 ) . Conclusions Decreased sexual desire is common but is usually neglected in patients with chronic hepatitis C undergoing anti-viral therapy , especially among male patients . Physicians must be monitoring the side effects of sexual health and depression The natural history , prognosis , and clinical significance of chronic hepatitis C are highly variable and somewhat controversial . The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of chronic hepatitis C infection on patients ' perceptions of health‐related quality of life ( HRQOL ) and to evaluate whether treatment with interferon improves HRQOL . A total of 642 patients with compensated liver disease who were enrolled in a multicenter trial of interferon therapy for chronic hepatitis C had evaluation of HRQOL using the SF‐36 and other instruments derived from the Medical Outcomes Study ( MOS ) . These instruments were self‐administered by patients at baseline and at the end of a 24‐week post‐treatment observation period after 24 weeks of interferon treatment . Patients with chronic hepatitis C were compared with healthy controls ( n = 750 ) selected from a representative sample of adults in the United States . Unadjusted and age/gender‐adjusted results were similar , as were analyses using parametric or nonparametric methods . Compared with healthy controls , patients with chronic hepatitis C at baseline had lower HRQOL on all eight scales of the SF‐36 ( P < .001 for all ) . Patients without cirrhosis ( n = 284 ) showed similar although slightly smaller differences . The differences were highly significant , clinical ly and socially relevant , and greatest for those scales that were more reflective of physical than mental or emotional disease . Patients who had a sustained viral response to interferon therapy ( n = 41 ) exhibited marked improvements in HRQOL , and these improvements exceeded those of nonresponders on 13 of 14 HRQOL scales ( 8 were statistically significant ) . Similar improvements were noted in patients with sustained biochemical responses . The authors concluded that patients with chronic hepatitis C with or without cirrhosis have markedly reduced HRQOL . Patients who had a sustained response ( virological or biochemical ) to interferon therapy experienced significant improvements in perceived wellness and functional status  . Successful interferon therapy provides meaningful improvements in HRQOL in patients with chronic hepatitis Decrease of libido and erectile dysfunction are reported by male patients during antiviral therapy of chronic hepatitis C , but therapy-associated underlying factors for sexual dysfunction are not well defined . To assess putative contributions of interferon-induced sex hormone changes to sexual dysfunction , we prospect ively investigated changes in free testosterone , total testosterone , dehydroepi and rosterone sulfate , prolactin , sex hormone-binding globulin , FSH and LH levels and psychometric self- assessment scores in 34 male patients treated with interferon alfa-2b ( 5 MIU three times weekly ) (n=19)+ ribavirin ( n=15 ) for 6 - 12 months .  Depression was measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale . Sexual dysfunction was evaluated by the Symptom Checklist 90 Item Revised and a five-point rating scale assessing sexual arousal disorder . Free and total testosterone decreased significantly during antiviral therapy in close correlation with libido/sexual function . Depression scores increased during therapy and were also significantly associated with sexual dysfunction . However , and rogen levels displayed no significant correlation with depression . These results suggest that interferon-induced decrease in sexual function is associated - but not causally related -with both and rogen reduction and increased depressive symptoms . These findings may affect care for male hepatitis C patients during interferon therapy Objectives Determine the relative impact of chronic hepatitis C ( CHC ) and co-morbid illnesses on health-related quality of life ( HRQoL ) in 3023 r and omly selected veterans with known hepatitis C virus antibody ( anti-HCV ) status who previously completed a veteran-specific HRQoL question naire ( SF-36V ) . Methods Multiple regression analyses were performed to measure the relative contribution of anti-HCV status , four demographic variables , and ten common medical and six psychiatric co-morbidities to HRQoL between 303 anti-HCV(+ ) and 2720 anti-HCV(− ) patients . Results Anti-HCV(+ ) veterans were younger , reported a lower HRQoL on seven of eight 36-Item Short Form Health Survey for Veterans ( SF-36V ) subscales ( P ≤ 0.001 ) and the mental component summary ( MCS ) scale ( P < 0.001 ) . The ten medical and six psychiatric co-morbidities had variable impact on predicting lower HRQoL in both groups . After adjusting for demographic variables and co-morbid illnesses , we found that anti-HCV(+ ) patients reported a significantly lower MCS score ( P < 0.001 ) and a trend toward a lower physical component summary ( PCS ) score ( P < 0.07 ) compared to anti-HCV(− ) veterans . Among the anti-HCV(+ ) veterans , co-morbid medical illnesses contributed to impaired PCS but not to MCS . Conclusions Veterans with CHC were younger than HCV(− ) veterans and hence less likely to have other co-morbid medical illnesses . Medical co-morbidities seen in those veterans with CHC contribute to impaired PCS but not MCS . Anti-HCV(+ ) status negatively affects HRQoL , particularly MCS , independently of medical and psychiatric co-morbidities INTRODUCTION Chronic liver diseases are often accompanied by hypogonadism , testicular atrophy , and a reduction in libido , all of which are factors that may contribute to the development of erectile dysfunction ( ED ) . However , large-scaled studies investigating the association between ED and viral hepatitis are still sparse . AIM This study aim ed to estimate the association between ED and a prior diagnosis of viral hepatitis using a population -based data set with a case-control design in Taiwan . METHODS We identified 6,429 patients with ED as cases and r and omly selected 32,145 subjects as controls . We used conditional logistic regression to compute the odds ratio ( OR ) for having previously received a diagnosis of viral hepatitis between cases and controls . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE The prevalence and odds of having been previously diagnosed with hepatitis B , hepatitis C , a coinfection with hepatitis B and C , and viral hepatitis of other etiology were calculated between cases and controls . RESULTS . Of the 38,574 sample d subjects , 3,930 ( 10.2 % ) had viral hepatitis before the index date ; viral hepatitis was found in 900 ( 14.0 % ) cases and in 3,030 ( 9.4 % ) controls . After adjusting for monthly income , geographic location , hypertension , diabetes , hyperlipidemia , hepatic steatosis , coronary heart disease , obesity , and alcohol abuse/alcohol dependence syndrome , cases were found to be more likely to have prior viral hepatitis than controls ( OR = 1.51 , 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] = 1.39 - 1.64 , P < 0.001 ) . A much higher proportion of coinfection with viral hepatitis B and C was additionally found among cases ( OR = 1.84 , 95 % CI = 1.72 - 1.97 ) than controls . CONCLUSIONS . We conclude that ED was associated with prior viral hepatitis , especially with a coinfection of hepatitis B and C , after adjusting for potential confounders 
    Output:
    
The current review yielded three distinct patterns of sexual impairment , namely , precirrhotic sexual impairment , cirrhosis-induced sexual decline , and interferon-associated sexual difficulties .
Our search yielded significant findings on the prevalence , the characteristics , and the determinants of HCV-associated sexual dysfunction .