title: Seroprevalence of hepatitis B: do blood donors represent the general population?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In this study, we aimed to compare the HBV seroprevalances of voluntary blood donors and the healthy persons who required premarital screening.
  
  
  METHODS
  HBsAg ELISA results were collected retrospectively from the records of 9,949 blood donors and 954 healthy persons who required premarital screening.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HBsAg was detected in 182 of 9,949 (%1.8) voluntary blood donors and  32 of  954 (%3.4) healthy persons who required premarital screening. HBsAg seropositivity was significiantly higher in the healthy persons who required premarital screening than in blood donors (p = 0.0016).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Premarital screening is mandatory in our country, and it may provide more accurate epidemiological data to determine HBV seroprevalence than in other selected groups such as blood donors.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Haseki Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. drhayat1@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Hayat Kumbasar
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Karaosmanoglu
authors.forename: Ozlem Altuntas
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Aydin
authors.forename: Semra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sandikci
authors.forename: Emine Rahsan
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Yamanlar
authors.forename: Ozcan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Nazlican
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001782:Blood Donors; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011291:Premarital Examinations; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens