title: The prevalence of hepatitis B antigen-positivity in the general population of Mashhad, Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a significant health problem throughout the world.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of hepatitis B antigen (HBsAg) seropositivity in the general population of Mashhad, northeast of Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  One thousand six hundred fifty-two healthy individuals aged 1 to 90 (Mean; 29.1 ± 18.5) from all 12 municipalities of Mashad were selected randomly by multistage cluster sampling. Informed consent was obtained, and demographics and medical histories were collected. Twice-reactive samples were considered HBsAg-positive by ELISA. Chi-square test and logistic regression were applied to analyze the factors related to HBsAg positivity using SPSS 16.0.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall prevalence of HBsAg positivity was 1.39% (95% CI, 0.91% to 2.12%); 2.0% and 0.89% among men and women, respectively (p = 0.054). Infection was more prevalent in older (p = 0.019) and married persons (p = 0.001), Afghanis (p = 0.046), and those with a history of traditional cupping (p = 0.005). There was no association between HBV infection and gender; literacy; income; employment; family size; or history of blood transfusion, dental procedure, surgery, hospitalization, or tattooing. By logistic regression analysis, age was the only variable that had a significant association with infection (p = 0.026).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It seems that the prevalence of HBV infection in Mashhad is slightly lower than that of the nation.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for HIV/AIDS, HTLV and Viral Hepatitis, Iranian Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (ACECR), Mashhad Branch, Mashhad, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Farhad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fathimoghaddam
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Hedayati-Moghaddam
authors.forename: Hamid Reza
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Bidkhori
authors.forename: Sanaz
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahmadi
authors.forename: Hamid Reza
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Sima
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