title: Prevalence of asymptomatic hepatitis B infection in pregnant Mexican-American women.
abstract: Recent reports document high rates of asymptomatic hepatitis B virus infection in pregnant Hispanic women of Caribbean and Latin American origin, frequently in the absence of identifiable risk factors. We hypothesized that the prevalence of asymptomatic hepatitis B virus infection in Mexican-American women was much lower and that most belonged to established risk groups. Three thousand seven hundred eight-nine pregnant women, 77% of whom had Hispanic surnames, were screened for hepatitis B surface antigen upon admission in labor to Medical Center Hospital in San Antonio. Twelve women, six of whom had Hispanic surnames, were found to have asymptomatic hepatitis B infections. The prevalence of asymptomatic infections was 3.2 per 1000 (95% confidence interval 1.6-5.5) in the total population, 2.0 per 1000 (95% confidence interval 0.7-4.5) in those with Hispanic surnames, and 7.0 per 1000 (95% confidence interval 2.5-15.0) in those with non-Hispanic surnames. Risk factors, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control, were found in five (42%) of the positive patients overall and in only one (17%) of the positive patients with an Hispanic surname. We conclude that, although asymptomatic hepatitis B infection is uncommon in these pregnant Mexican-American women, the absence of identifiable risk factors in the majority of those infected suggests that routine screening in this population is justified.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Dinsmoor
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Gibbs
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000276:immunology; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008800:Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000276:immunology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens