Korean J Epidemiol.  1996 Dec;18(2):151-159.

Pilot Study on Hepatitis B of 6- to 7-year-old School Children in Seoul

• Kang YJ
• Hong YJ
• Kim JH
• Lee H

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Recentry, the prevalence of HBsAg in children has been gradually decreased in Korea may be due to extensive vaccination. The object of this study is to identify the HbsAg positive rate in 6 to 7 year-old school children in Seoul and to outline the surveilance status of the HBsAg positive subjects.
METHODS
We analyzed HBV mass screening results of 120,106 6 to 7-year-old school children in Seoul. For 188 HBsAg positive children who complied with the follow up visit, we tested HBeAg, LFT and interviewed their parents. We also compared the questionnaire results of HbsAg positive group with those of 694 random-sampled HBsAg negative controls.
RESULTS
The overall HBsAg positive rate was 0.79%(0.81% in boys and 0.76% in girls). Children in poverty area showed significantly higher rate(1.04%) of HBsAg positivity than those in non-poverty area(0.77%). Among HbsAg positive children, 86.7% was also HBeAg positive and had higher ALT levels than those with negative HBeAg. More than 70% of parents of HBsAg positive children was not aware of their children's HBsAg status before the screening and 28.7% of mothers did not know their own HbsAg status. The complete vaccination rate of the HBsAg positive and HBsAg negative group were 75.5% and 77.4% respectively, which shows no significant difference. Having family history of HBV infection was significantly associated with HBsAg positive status(OR=32. 8).
CONCLUSIONS
The HBsAg positive rate in 6- to 7-year-old school children has decreased in Korea compared to the data from previous studies. However in the aspects of public awareness and health care compliance, there are much room for quality improvement. Above all, more rigorous and continuous surveilance system is required for antenatal and postpartum care.

MeSH Terms

Child*
Compliance
Delivery of Health Care
Follow-Up Studies
Hepatitis B e Antigens
Hepatitis B Surface Antigens
Hepatitis B*
Hepatitis*
Humans
Korea
Mass Screening
Mothers
Parents
Pilot Projects*
Postnatal Care
Poverty Areas
Prevalence
Quality Improvement
Seoul*
Vaccination
Surveys and Questionnaires
Hepatitis B Surface Antigens
Hepatitis B e Antigens