Abstract
Despite solid preventive strategies to reduce the risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, recent reports about its prevalence and predictors are lacking in several Saudi cities at the community level. This study aimed to assess the seroprevalence of HBV and to identify the most important predictors among the Saudi population in Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 5,584 Saudi people attending primary health-care centers in Jeddah city during 2012/2013. Sociodemographic and hepatitis-related data were collected. HBV was diagnosed by ELISA test. The seroprevalence of HBV was estimated, and appropriate statistical analyses were performed, including univariate and multivariable regression analyses. The seroprevalence of HBV was 2.2% (95% CI = 1.82-2.58) in the studied participants. The prevalence was higher among non-governmental workers (3.5%), male participants (3.4%) and those aged ≥ 25 years (2.4%). The most important predictors for increasing the risk of HBV in this study were HBV contacts, male sex, history of dental procedures and blood transfusion. The significant positive risks associated with these predictors were 3.3, 2.5, 2.0 and 1.65, respectively. HBV vaccination, on the other hand, was associated with a significant risk reduction of 88% (OR = 0.12; 95% CI = 0.03-0.51). The seroprevalence of HBV was relatively low among the Saudi population in Jeddah city reflecting the actions taken by health authorities to control HBV infection. However, more efforts, particularly in relation to health education programmes, strict control of blood banks and dental clinics, are still needed.
Highlights
Despite solid preventive strategies to reduce the risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, recent reports about its prevalence and predictors are lacking in several Saudi cities at the community level
The present study revealed the seroprevalence of HBV in the studied population to be 2.2%
This result differs from previously reported rates from different parts of Saudi Arabia
Summary
Despite solid preventive strategies to reduce the risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, recent reports about its prevalence and predictors are lacking in several Saudi cities at the community level. This study aimed to assess the seroprevalence of HBV and to identify the most important predictors among the Saudi population in Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a global health problem, especially in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. It is the main cause of acute and chronic hepatitis as well as liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma [1]. Seroprevalence studies in Saudi Arabia before 1990 showed that the prevalence of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) seropositivity among Saudi children up to 12 years of age was on average 6.7%, and 7.4% among adults [3]. Since the use of the national vaccination strategy for infants in 1990, the incidence has shown a marked drop among children, it is still slightly high in adults, and it was estimated to be 3.3% [5,6]
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