The chronicity rate in hepatitis C infection appears to be lower in younger individuals. The most widely quoted data on the prevalence of HCV in the United States comes from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a national survey of a representative sample of non-institutionalized civilian Americans conducted between 1988 and 1994. In the NHANES study, the chronicity rate was estimated at 30% in subjects below the age of 20 years, and 76% for those older than 20 years.