Increased incidence of hepatitis B markers in children with sickle-cell anemia.
Screening of 143 children 6 months to 12 years of age with sickle-cell anemia showed that 39.2% were HBsAg-positive as compared with 19.3% of the 161 control children of the same age group, who had Hb genotype AA (chi 2 = 14.7383; P less than 0.001). Fifty percent of the HbSS children under the age of 1 year were HBsAg-positive as opposed to 4.3% of the control group (chi 2 = 9.1955; P less than 0.001), while 28.6% of patients were HBsAg-positive at the age of 4 years compared with only 7.4% of the controls at the same age. The incidence of anti-HBc in both groups was similar. Markers of HBV infection (HBsAg + anti-HBc) were, however, on the whole higher in the patients with sickle-cell anemia [88/118 (74.6%)] than in the controls [54/88 (61.3%; P less than 0.005)].
Abiodun
P O
PO
Department of Child Health, College of Medical Sciences, University of Benin, Nigeria.
Fatunde
O J
OJ
Flach
K H
KH
Buck
T
T
D000367:Age Factors; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D002353:Carrier State / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D012307:Risk Factors
D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens