Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, Vol 53, Issue 2 M107-M111, Copyright © 1998 by The Gerontological Society of America
Differing characteristics of hepatitis B and C risk factors among elders in a rural area in Taiwan
CS Wang, TT Chang and P Chou
A-Lein Community Health Center, Taiwan, Republic of China.
BACKGROUND: Both hepatitis B and C are major health concerns in Taiwan. The
goal of this study was to determine how risk factors for hepatitis B and C
differed in this study population. It was also hoped that the data might
help determine how age and place of residence affect hepatitis risk
factors. METHODS: Complete serum and hepatitis marker analysis (HBsAg and
AntiHCV) was done for 282 individuals over 65 years old. Of these, 254 were
interviewed for risk factor analysis. RESULTS: Of the 282 subjects, 8.2%
were HBsAg+, 27.3% were AntiHCV+, and 3.2% were both HBsAg+ and AntiHCV+.
AntiHCV+ subjects were more likely than AntiHCV-subjects to have had
frequent medical injections, odds ratio (OR) = 2.94, 95% confidence
interval (CI) (1.68, 5.12), and it was the only independent risk factor for
determining AntiHCV+, OR = 3.26, 95% CI (1.85, 6.11) (N = 254). The
AntiHCV+ group had higher alanine and asparate aminotransferase levels but
lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels than AntiHCV- and HBsAg+ groups
(p < .0001). Abnormal ALT existed in 40.3% of AntiHCV+ and 10.7% of
AntiHCV- cases. ALT was associated with AntiHCV and sex, although abnormal
AST was only associated with AntiHCV. CONCLUSIONS: AntiHCV was closely
related with frequent medical injections and was the primary risk factor
for abnormal ALT and AST levels in this study population. It appears that
frequent medical injections are an important risk factor because of the
previously common habit of reusing syringes. This is of major concern to
elders in Taiwan because of their much greater likelihood of repeated
exposure.
