Abstract
BackgroundHepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major viral infection, particularly in people living in the Western Pacific region, including the hill tribe people living in northern Thailand. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of HBV infection and to detect the factors associated with HBV infection among hill tribe youths in Thailand.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted to estimate the prevalence and determine the factors associated with HBV infection among hill tribe youths living in northern Thailand. A validated questionnaire and 5 mL blood sample were used for data collection. The Wondfo Diagnostic Kit®, the Wondfo One Step HBsAg Serum/Plasma Test®, and the Wondfo One Step HBsAg Serum/Plasma Test® were used for anti-HBsAg, HBsAg, and total anti-HBc detections, respectively. Logistic regression was used to detect associations between variables with an α = 0.05 significance level.ResultsA total of 836 participants were included in the study; 62.7% were female, 58.9% were aged 15–17 years, 58.7% were Buddhist, 78.4% graduated high school, and 89.1% had no income. The majority were Akha (30.0%), Yao (16.3%), and Hmong (15.8%); 13.2% smoked, 21.5% used alcohol, 13.3% had tattoos, 3.9% experienced drug injection from illegal practitioners, and 35.7% had no history of HBV immunization. The prevalence of HBsAg was 3.0%; anti-HBs, 10.2%; and total anti-HBc, 8.1%. In the multivariate analysis, four variables were found to be significantly associated with HBV infection among the hill tribe youths: age, tribe, work experience, and number of partners. Those aged 18–20 years and 21–24 years had 2.13 times (95%CI = 1.35–3.29) and 2.39 times (95%CI = 1.05–3.90) greater odds of HBV infection, respectively, than those aged 15–17 years. Akha, Lahu, and Hmong youths had 3.12 times (95%CI = 1.07–9.12), 3.71 times (95%CI = 1.21–11.41), and 3.84 times (95%CI = 1.26–11.69) greater odds of HBV infection, respectively, than Lisu youths. Those who had experience working outside of the village had a 1.77 times (95%CI = 1.18–2.98) greater chance of HBV infection than those who did not have experience working outside of the village, and those who had ≥2 partners had a 2.66 times (95%CI = 1.96–3.87) greater chance of HBV infection than those who had no partner.ConclusionsEffective HBV prevention programs should be promoted in Akha, Lahu, and Hmong youth populations, particularly to those who have sexual partners, work outside of the village and are aged 18–24 years.
Highlights
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major viral infection, in people living in the Western Pacific region, including the hill tribe people living in northern Thailand
The infection leads to several health problems, including acute and chronic diseases such as hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), etc
Five villages of each tribe were selected by a simple random method from lists of the hill tribe villages located in Chiang Rai Province, northern Thailand
Summary
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major viral infection, in people living in the Western Pacific region, including the hill tribe people living in northern Thailand. Hepatitis B infection is an infectious diseases with one of the largest impacts on human health, with approximately 257 million infected people worldwide [1]. The infection leads to several health problems, including acute and chronic diseases such as hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), etc. 80–90% of infections occur in the first year of life, and 30–50% of infections that occur before the age of 6 progress to the chronic stage [3]. The chronic stage of HBV infection eventually leads to the development of HCC during middle age [4, 5]. HCC rates impact the national health system and health economics of a country
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