A Study on Markers of Viral Hepatitis in Adults Living in Daegu and Gyungbuk Area

Park, Kyung Sik; Lee, Yeong Seok; Lee, Seok Guen; Hwang, Jun Young; Chung, Woo Jin; Cho, Kwang Bum; Hwang, Jae Seok; Ahn, Sung Hoon; Park, Soong Kook

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In spite of continuous decrease in prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, hepatic diseases including hepatic cancer still are major causes of death in Korea. As a large portion of hepatic diseases is caused by HBV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Korea, we reviewed the serologic markers of HBV and HCV in adults in Daegu and Gyungbuk area for the last five years. Then, we compared them with the reported data of other areas. METHODS: We studied total 21,291 adults who had received medical examination at health promotion center of Dongsan Hospital from 1997 to 2001. RESULTS: The overall serologic positivity of HBsAg and anti-HCV was 6.1% and 0.9%, respectively. Seven (0.03%) of 21,291 were positive for both HBsAg and anti-HCV. The positivity of HBsAg was higher in male, highest in 4th and 5th decades. It decreased yearly from 1997 to 2001. The positivity of anti-HCV increased with age but there was no difference between both genders or examined years. CONCLUSIONS: The overall trend of viral markers in Daegu and Gyungbuk area was not different significantly from previously reported data of other areas.