Study: N.J. heroin epidemic may be leading to rise in hepatitis C

A recent study has found a possible link between New Jersey's heroin epidemic and a rise in hepatitis C diagnoses, NewsWorks reports.

The findings are part of a 10-month study by Dr. Ronald Nahass, an infectious diseases specialist, and a team of psychiatrists at the Princeton House, a New Jersey addiction treatment center. 

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According to the study, of the more than 850 heroin users admitted to Princeton House's inpatient facility, 44 percent tested positive for hepatitis C, and almost two-thirds were younger than age 35.

The findings are part of a study by Dr. Ronald Nahass, an infectious diseases specialist, and a team of psychiatrists at the Princeton House, a New Jersey addiction treatment center. (National AIDS Treatment Advocacy Project/Princeton House)

The authors point out a notable piece of the study findings is that none of the patient participants who tested positive for hepatitis C also tested positive for HIV.

But state health officials still worry over the potential risk since nearly "70 percent of addicts in New Jersey are intravenous users," study co-author Dr. Neal Schofield, chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Princeton House Behavioral Health, told NewsWorks.

Read the full NewsWorks report here.