Premium
Low prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection in patients with autoimmune diseases in a Chinese patient population
Author(s) -
Sui M.,
Wu R.,
Hu X.,
Zhang H.,
Jiang J.,
Yang Y.,
Niu J.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of viral hepatitis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.329
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1365-2893
pISSN - 1352-0504
DOI - 10.1111/jvh.12302
Subject(s) - medicine , autoimmune hepatitis , hbsag , primary biliary cirrhosis , immunology , hepatitis b virus , autoimmune disease , hepatitis b , hepatitis , disease , gastroenterology , virus
Summary Hepatitis B is a very common communicable disease in China but the prevalence of hepatitis B virus ( HBV ) infection in patients with autoimmune diseases is unknown. We retrospectively investigated the prevalence of autoimmune diseases in patients with HBV infection. The medical records of 4060 patients with autoimmune or nonautoimmune diseases were reviewed. A positive test result for hepatitis B surface antigen ( HB sAg) was used to indicate the presence of HBV infection. Autoimmune diseases included autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cirrhosis, systemic lupus erythematosus and ulcerative colitis. Nonautoimmune conditions included inguinal hernia, appendicitis and pregnant or postpartum women. The proportion of autoimmune disease patients who were HB sAg positive (2.24%) was significantly lower than that of nonautoimmune disease patients who were HB sAg positive (4.58%; P = 0.0014). Regarding hepatic autoimmune diseases, the positivity rates for HB sAg in autoimmune hepatitis patients (0.83%) and primary biliary cirrhosis patients (1.02%) were both significantly lower than in nonautoimmune patients (4.58%; P = 0.006 and 0.004, respectively). Patients with hepatic autoimmune disease were significantly less likely to be HB sAg positive (0.93%) than patients with non‐hepatic autoimmune disease (3.99%; P = 0.002). Patients with autoimmune diseases, especially those with hepatic autoimmune disease, may more efficiently clear HBV than patients with nonautoimmune diseases.