Several studies have revealed, one way to prevent receiving a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes, is to not contract hepatitis C in the first place.
Investigators at the International Medical University in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, pooled information from 35 particular studies that looked at hepatitis C, together with Type 2 diabetes.
So, if you have ever received a diagnosis of hepatitis C, this information could be useful for you.
Their report was published in April 2012 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology, and looked at all the studies performed between 1988 and March 2011 on hepatitis C and diabetes.
It was found people who had ever received a hepatitis C diagnosis also had a:

• 41 per cent greater risk of being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, and
• male patients over 40 years of age had a seven-fold increased risk.
  

From this information it was concluded hepatitis C could also be a risk factor for developing Type 2 diabetes.
What is Hepatitis C?

• Hepatitis C is a viral infection that causes inflammation of the liver.
  
• health care workers who have contract with blood are at high risk if careful precautions are not taken with needles, blood, and blood products.
  
• sharing needles with someone who has hepatitis C is also high-risk behavior.
  
• receiving a blood transfusion or organ donor transplant from someone who has hepatitis C (blood transfusions before 1992) can also transmit the disease.
  
• sexual intercourse, sharing toothbrushes or razors, or getting a tattoo with unsterilized instruments are also modes of transmission.
  

Anyone diagnosed with hepatitis C can have:

• jaundice,
• a yellowish discoloration of the skin and the whites of the eyes, along with
• itching of the skin.
  

The liver is located on the right side of the upper abdomen, and the area can be tender.
Fluid called ascites can make the abdomen swell.
Bile, normally made by the liver and transmitted into the intestines, does not reach the intestines, and the stool becomes pale.
The urine is usually dark.
People with hepatitis C can have:

• fever,
• abnormal tiredness,
• loss of appetite,
• nausea, and
• vomiting.
  

Blood tests will detect the virus directly and measure how well the liver is functioning.
A liver biopsy is usually performed to show the extent of the damage.
When hepatitis C is diagnosed, patients can be treated with:

• pegylated interferon alfa for 24 to 48 weeks, or
• a newer drug such as teleprevir or boceprevir can be used for one type of hepatitis C virus (the most common type).
  

Although medications are helpful against the virus, curing the disease is extremely difficult.
People who have had hepatitis C must be careful to avoid alcohol and other substances that are toxic to the liver.
They also need to be vaccinated for other types of hepatitis.
Whether hepatitis C can actually lead to Type 2 diabetes is a question that needs further investigation.
Certainly prevention of the viral disease is important to prevent liver damage in the form of cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer.