Hepatitis B virus infection and the risk of coronary atherosclerosis.
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.
Ghotaslou
Reza
R
Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. gottasloreza@tbzmed.ac.ir
Aslanabadi
Nasser
N
Ghojazadeh
Morteza
M
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
D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D015243:Cholesterol, VLDL; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens