The prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen and anti-hepatitis B core antibody in Iran: a population-based study.
BACKGROUND
Hepatitis B virus infection is a very common cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. It is estimated that 3% of Iranians are chronically infected with hepatitis B virus. Current population-based studies on both rural and urban prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection in Iran are sparse with results that do not always agree. We performed this study to find the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen, anti-hepatitis B core antibody, and associated factors in the general population of three provinces of Iran.


METHODS
We randomly selected 6,583 subjects from three provinces in Iran, namely Tehran, Golestan, and Hormozgan. The subjects were aged between 18 and 65 years. Serum samples were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen and anti-hepatitis B core antibody. Various risk factors were recorded and multivariate analysis was performed.


RESULTS
The prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen and anti-hepatitis B core antibody in Iran was 2.6% and 16.4%, respectively. Predictors of hepatitis B surface antigen or anti-hepatitis B core antibody in multivariate analysis included older age, not having high-school diploma, living in a rural area, and liver disease in a family member. We did not find any significant differences between males and females.


CONCLUSIONS
In spite of nationwide vaccination of newborns against hepatitis B virus since 1992, hepatitis B virus infection remains a very common cause of chronic liver disease in Iran which should be dealt with for at least the next 30-50 years.
Merat
Shahin
S
Digestive Disease Research Center, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Rezvan
Houri
H
Nouraie
Mehdi
M
Jamali
Arsia
A
Assari
Shervin
S
Abolghasemi
Hassan
H
Radmard
Amir-Reza
AR
Zaer-Rezaii
Hanieh
H
Zeid-Abadi-Nejhad
Mahmood
M
Hosseini
Mohammad-Reza
MR
Amini-Kafiabad
Sedigheh
S
Maghsudlu
Mahtab
M
Pourshams
Akram
A
Malekzadeh
Reza
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D055815:Young Adult
D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens