The suggestion of a possible association between diabetes mellitus and chronic HCV infection has revolutionized our recent understanding of non-communicable diseases. The initial idea behind this association was higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus among patients with cirrhosis due to chronic HCV infection compared to those with non-HCV-related cirrhosis (Gane, 2012). However, this was not always true, as some studies did not find an excess prevalence of diabetes mellitus in HCV-infected patients (Marmo, 1998., Imazeki, 2008). This discrepancy is not unexpected, since the prevalence of diabetes in patients with chronic HCV infection may be influenced by several factors such as HCV genotypes, viral load, the severity and duration of liver disease as well as interferon (IFN) therapy (Fenakel, 2000., Ferraz, 2002., Alaei, 2009).
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