220635 Hepatitis B Virus Infection among Asian and African Immigrants in the Baltimore Washington Metropolitan Areas

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Hee-Soon Juon, PhD , Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Wu Yang, MEd , Dept. Health, Behavior & Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Jane Pan , Hepatitis B Initiative of Washington DC, Washington, DC
Jennifer Lee, MD , The George Washington University, Washington, DC
Mark K. Li, MD , Asian American Physician Coalition, Primary care physician, Wheaton, MD
Background: The purpose of this paper is to estimate the status of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection particularly among Asian and African immigrants and seek implications for further intervention.

Methods: A total of 231 adults received free HBV screening through events held in collaboration with faith-based organizations. Serum tests for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis B surface antibody (HBsAb) were collected to identify the status of HBV infection.

Results: Among those screened, 15.6% (N=36) were African immigrants and 76.2% (N=176) were Asian Americans, including 136 Chinese and 36 Koreans. 8.2% (N=19) were HBV positive (HBsAg+, HBsAb-), 51.9% (N=92) were HBV negative but were protected (HBsAg-, HBsAg+), and 39.8% (N=92) were unprotected (HBsAg-, HBsAb-). The HBsAg (+) rate for US-born was lower (0.0%) than Chinese-born (11.9%) and Korean-born (2.6%). No African immigrants were infected with HBV. The HBsAg (+) rate for 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 and 60-69 year old participants(10.0%; 13.0%; 6.9%; 11.1%) were higher than those 20-29 years of age(4.3%) and above 70 (3.6%). The HBsAg (+) rate was slightly higher for males (9.1%) as compared to females (7.7%).

Conclusions: Given the high prevalence of chronic HBV infection among Asian-born Americans, we call for health care providers to screen Asian immigrants for HBV, regardless of their vaccination status. Since those aged 30-69 are more susceptible to HBV infection, we also recommend providing those who are infected with HBV culturally sensitive information to prevent disease transmission and referral for proper medical management to reduce the risk of liver cancer.

Learning Areas:
Chronic disease management and prevention
Epidemiology

Learning Objectives:
To estimate the status of hepatitis B virus infection among Asian and African immigrants To discuss the implications for further intervention

Keywords: Asian Americans, Cancer Prevention

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present since I oversee the programs such as developing questionnaire, data entry/cleaning, and anlaysis of liver cancer prevention program
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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