Premium
Hepatitis B in the United States: A major health disparity affecting many foreign‐born populations
Author(s) -
Ward John W.,
Byrd Kathy K.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.488
H-Index - 361
eISSN - 1527-3350
pISSN - 0270-9139
DOI - 10.1002/hep.25799
Subject(s) - foreign born , virology , medicine , environmental health , demography , population , sociology
In this issue of Hepatology, Kowdley et al. estimate 3.45% or 1.23-1.42 million of all foreignborn persons in the United States, are living with hepatitis B, a rate more than 10-fold higher than the prevalence of the general US population (0.27%) (1). High rates of chronic hepatitis B among the U.S. foreign born reflect the large global burden of hepatitis B, 370 million persons around the world, and the migration to the United States from countries where prevalence of HBV is highest. More than 60% of new immigrants to the United States come from countries of increased hepatitis B endemicity (HBsAg prevalence of >2%). Most HBV-infected persons from these countries become infected at birth or during early childhood, when the risk for chronic HBV infection is greatest; 25% of persons with chronic HBV remain at risk of premature death from hepatitis B-related liver disease (e.g., hepatocellular carcinoma [HCC]) (2). In the United States, estimates of HBV prevalence are derived from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). However, this survey underrepresents some populations with high hepatitis B virus (HBV) prevalence. For example, NHANES data do not identify respondents born in most Asian or any African countries or report racial/ethnic categories that indicate origins in these countries (3,4). These limitations in data collection mask Page 1 of 8 Hepatology