en Infectious Diseases Infectious Diseases Original Article Original Article <span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"><strong><em>Background</em></strong><em>:</em> </span>Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a blood-borne virus. It is a major global public health problem and can cause both acute and chronic hepatitis. The aim of this study was to report the epidemiological features of HCV infection and risk factors based on the data from Azar Cohort, East Azerbaijan province, Iran.<br> <span style="color:#0000FF;"><strong><em>Methods</em></strong><em>:</em></span> The population of this study comprised the people in the age range of 35-70 years from Azar Cohort, East Azerbaijan province, Iran. The study was conducted between 2015 and 2016. Based on cluster sampling, 4, 949 people were selected and invited to complete the questionnaire and perform the tests. Blood samples collected in this study were analyzed to detect the presence of antibodies against HCV using enzyme immunoassay (ELISA) Kit. The positive samples were re-tested by qualitative HCV-RNA polymerase chain reaction. All data were analyzed using SPSS version 19.0 software.<br> <span style="color:#0000FF;"><strong><em>Results</em></strong><em>:</em></span> The mean age of the participants was 49.15&plusmn;9.02 years. Of these participants, 54.3% (n=2686) were females. Seven people (0.14%) were detected as HCV positive and the highest frequency was seen in the age range of 40-50 (0.16%). There was a statistical significant relationship between history of hospitalization (P=0.02) and history of abnormal urine (P=0.01) with the frequency of HCV infection.<br> <span style="color:#0000FF;"><strong><em>Conclusion</em></strong><em>:</em></span> The findings of this study indicated that the frequency of hepatitis C virus infection is 0.14% in the general population of Azar Cohort.</span></span> Hepatitis C, Seroepidemiology, Azar Cohort, Iran 326 331 http://caspjim.com/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1300-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Ali Asghar Pouri aliasghar_pouri@yahoo.com 100319475328460018395 100319475328460018395 No Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran Morteza Ghojazadeh ghojazadehm@hotmail.com 100319475328460018396 100319475328460018396 No Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran Behrouz Pourasghari pourasgarybehroz@gmail.com 100319475328460018397 100319475328460018397 No Laborathory Department, Imam Reza Hospital, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran Babak Baiaz b.bayaz159@gmail.com 100319475328460018398 100319475328460018398 No Laborathory Department Imam Reza Hospital, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran Fatemeh Soghra Hamzavi fshamzavi@gmail.com 100319475328460018399 100319475328460018399 No Laborathory Department, Imam Reza Hospital, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran Mohammad Hossein Somi dr.somi.m.h@gmail.com 100319475328460018400 100319475328460018400 Yes Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran