Virological activity in treatment-naïve HBeAg-negative HBV-infected adult patients: A community-based study in Jiangsu, China

Medicine (Baltimore). 2020 Jul 17;99(29):e21179. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000021179.

Abstract

Nowadays most of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) infected population are adults, among which hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) negative infection occupied the largest proportion of HBV infection in China. HBeAg-negative patients are heterogeneous, and the corresponding interventions are different. Therefore, it is worth researching the infection characteristics of HBeAg-negative patients to help guide the interventions.A total of 11,738 treatment-naïve HBeAg-negative adult patients were randomly selected, and their demographic and medical history information were collected. The liver biochemistry, and HBV infection biomarkers including hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs), HBeAg, hepatitis B e antibody (anti-HBe), hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc), and hepatitis B virus deoxyribonucleic acid (HBV-DNA) levels were tested. The infection characteristics and their influencing factors were explored.Sixty percent of the patients presented HBV-DNA-positive, of which 31.2% had HBV-DNA level higher than 2000 IU/mL, and 16.5% had HBV-DNA level higher than 20,000 IU/mL. HBV-DNA levels tended to increase along with the increasing of age, and the male patients had significant higher HBV-DNA levels than the female patients. Twenty-four percent of the patients had abnormal transaminase. The male patients were more vulnerable to abnormal transaminase (30.0%) than the female patients (18.4%). Fifty-five percent patients with HBV-DNA ≥20,000 IU/mL presented abnormal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate transaminase (AST), which was significantly higher than that of patients with HBV-DNA levels below 20,000 IU/mL (19.0-21.7%). Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that the male patients and the patients with higher viral load had higher risk of having abnormal liver function.A considerable number of HBeAg-negative patients were virological active and had liver damage. It is necessary and urgent to carry out regular active interventions for the chronic HBV-infected patients.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Chi-Square Distribution
  • China
  • Female
  • Hepatitis B / blood
  • Hepatitis B / virology*
  • Hepatitis B e Antigens / analysis*
  • Hepatitis B e Antigens / blood
  • Hepatitis B virus / classification*
  • Hepatitis B virus / pathogenicity
  • Humans
  • Liver / physiopathology
  • Logistic Models
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Odds Ratio
  • Serologic Tests

Substances

  • Hepatitis B e Antigens