The HCV has been associated with significant impairment of quality of life, irrespective of the degree of liver injury. The association of this disease with psychiatric comorbidities, especially depression, has been well described in the scientific literature. However, despite also significantly affect the quality of life of individuals, the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has not been well studied in this population.

Evaluate whether individuals perceive the liver disease as a potentially traumatic experience and investigate the impact of PTSD diagnosis on health-related quality of life in hepatitis C virus-infected subjects.

We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 127 consecutive hepatitis C-infected outpatients. We investigated Traumatic Experiences and the subject's perception about the disease using the Trauma History Questionnaire. PTSD and others psychiatry diagnoses were assessed trough M.I.N.I. PLUS. Quality of life was assessed by the Short-Form 36.

Approximately 38.6% of the patients perceived the hepatitis C as a traumatic experience, 60.7% had PTSD diagnosis. It were no associate with the disease severity (been eligible for transplant), however there was a significant association with diagnosis of PTSD (p = 0.003). Roughly 22% of the sample showed PTSD diagnosis. PTSD imposed a significant impairment in quality of life of individuals in seven of the eight domains in the bivariate and multivariate analysis. This difference remained significant after adjustment for covariates such as major depressive disorder comorbidity.

The results suggest high prevalence of PTSD diagnosis in VHC infected patients and it impose impairment in their quality of life.