title: Hepatitis B virus infection and the risk of coronary atherosclerosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many studies have reported on the association between human coronary artery disease (CAD) and certain persistent bacterial and viral infections. Currently, it is unclear whether hepatitis B virus infection is associated with the risk of the atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible association between hepatitis B virus infection and angiography-proven CAD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sera from 5,004 patients who underwent coronary angiography were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) by enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay at Madani Heart Hospital, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our study population comprised 66% male and 34% female, with an age range of 36 to 86 years. The prevalence of HBsAg positivity tended to be higher in CAD patients than in those without CAD (3.28% versus 2.17%), but the difference was not statistically significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that hepatitis B virus infection is not associated with coronary atherosclerosis in this population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. gottasloreza@tbzmed.ac.ir
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ghotaslou
authors.forename: Nasser
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aslanabadi
authors.forename: Morteza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghojazadeh
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D015243:Cholesterol, VLDL / Q000097:blood; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D015243:Cholesterol, VLDL; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens