Hepatitis B Viral Markers of Korean Adults in the Late 1990s : Survey Data of 70,347 Health Screenees

Joo, Kwang Ro; Bang, Sung Jo; Song, Byung Cheo; Youn, Kwang Hee; Joo, Yeon Ho; Yang, Soohyun; Kim, Ky Rark; Chung, Young Hwa; Lee, Yung Sang; Suh, Dong Jin

Abstract

BACKGROUNDS/AIMS: We examined the serologic markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection including anti-HBc (IgG) among Korean adults in the late 1990s to analyze the changing trends of HBV infection.
METHODS
For 70,347 adults who visited Asan Medical Center for general health screening from July, 1995 to December, 1997, HBsAg, anti-HBs and anti-HBc were tested by radioimmunoas say and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was examined.
RESULTS
The overall prevalence of HBsAg was 5.7% and was increased with age (2.5% in teens, 5.4% in twenties, 6.8% in thirties) The overall prevalence of anti-HBc was 61.6%, which was significantly different below and above thirties. The proportion of persons who were negative for all HBV markers was 12.6% and this rate was similar in all age group. The prevalence of anti-HBc among persons who were negative in HBsAg and anti-HBs increased markedly with age. The percentage of persons with elevated ALT (> or = 2x upper normal limit) was higher in HBsAg-positive subjects than in HBsAg-negative subjects(7.4% vs 2.4%). The rare combination of HBV markers (+/-/-) which were positive in HBsAg and negative in anti-HBs and anti-HBC was found in 0.06% of entire subjects.
CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of HBsAg was decreasing and the percentage of subjects who were anti-HBc-negative was high in younger age group ( 30 years). Although the aquisition of anti-HBs was increasing through HBV vaccination, a significant proportion (>10%) without any HBV markers was still susceptible to HBV infection.