title: Prevalence of hepatitis C virus antibody among Korean adults.
abstract: To estimate the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among Korean adults and to present the putative route of HCV transmission among them, serum samples from 4917 adults older than 20 years of age were tested for antibody to HCV (anti-HCV), and histories of blood transfusion and other pertinent information were obtained by self-administered questionnaires. The overall prevalence of anti-HCV was 1.7%; prevalence was 1.4% in subjects with normal levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), 3.3% in those with slightly elevated and 5.9% in those with markedly elevated levels of the enzymes. The prevalence of anti-HCV increased with increasing age (P < 0.01), but was not associated with blood transfusion. The present study suggests that the prevalence of HCV infection was 1.4% and that the major routes of HCV transmission may be other than blood transfusion in healthy Korean adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Korea.
authors.forename: Y S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Pai
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Y I
authors.initials: YI
authors.lastname: Min
authors.forename: Y O
authors.initials: YO
authors.lastname: Ahn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000635:transmission; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies