Korean J Med.  2008 Nov;75(5):539-545.

Prevalence of occult HBV infection in alcholic and non-alcoholic subjects lacking the hepatitis B surface antigen

• Oh SN
• Yeon JE
• Han WS
• Choi DW
• Kim JH
• Kim YH
• Park JJ
• Kim JS
• Byun KS
• Bak YT

Abstract

BACKGROUNDS/AIMS: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and chronic alcoholism are major risk factors for chronic liver disease in Korea.
METHODS
We investigated the prevalence of occult HBV infection in 198 non-alcoholic (group I) and 85 chronic alcoholic subjects (group II), none of whom showed the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Among chronic alcoholics, 25 patients showed cirrhosis. Using serum samples stored at -70 degrees C, liver enzymes, anti-Hbs, and IgG anti-HBc were measured via EIA and serum HBV DNA was quantified via real time PCR.
RESULTS
IgG anti-HBc seropositivity, an indicator of past infection, was higher in group II (64.7%) than in group I (43.4%; p<0.01). Eleven of 283 patients (3.2%) were seropositive for HBV DNA, indicating occult infection, but this value did not differ between groups (group I: 3.5%, 7/198; group II: 4.7%, 4/85; p=0.64). In group II, HBV DNA seropositivity was higher in cirrhotic patients (12%, 3/25) than in non-cirrhotic alcoholic liver disease (1.7%, 1/60; p=0.074).
CONCLUSIONS
Past HBV infection was more prevalent in alcoholics than non-alcoholics, but the prevalence of occult HBV infection did not differ between groups. However, alcoholics with cirrhosis tended to show a higher prevalence of occult HBV infection.

Keyword

Alcoholism; Hepatitis B virus; Occult infection

MeSH Terms

Alcoholics
Alcoholism
DNA
Fibrosis
Hepatitis
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B Surface Antigens
Hepatitis B virus
Humans
Immunoglobulin G
Korea
Liver
Liver Diseases
Liver Diseases, Alcoholic
Prevalence
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
Risk Factors
DNA
Hepatitis B Surface Antigens
Immunoglobulin G