Hepatitis B Virus Seropositivity among Schistosomiasis and Diabetes Mellitus Patients in Sana'a City, Yemen

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major public health problem worldwide, often coexisting with other illnesses like parasitic infections and other chronic diseases. Data on the association of HBV infection with schistosomiasis and diabetes mellitus (DM) is limited. This case-control study was conducted to investigate the seropositivity rate and potential risk factors of HBV, and to examine the association between HBV and schistosomiasis with or without super added DM.
Three hundred patients presented themselves to internal medical departments and diabetes centres at different public and private hospitals in Sana’a city, Yemen. Those recruited were then split in to six groups, those being type 1 DM, type 2 DM, schistosomal hepatic fibrosis (SHF), type 1 DM+SHF, type 2 DM+SHF and the control group. Overall, 20% (60/300) of the participants were positive when tested for hepatitis B core total antibody (HBcAb) by ELISA test. There were no significant differences in the positivity rate in terms of group, age or gender of the participants.
Univariate and multivariate analyses showed significant associations between HBV seropositivity and a history of jaundice, familial history of SHF, familial history of liver cirrhosis, personal history of schistosomiasisa and a history of using parenteral antischistosomal drugs. On the other hand, no significant association was reported between HBV seropositivity and any DM-related variables. It was also reported that no additional risk was added to the association between HBV seropositivity and SHF when the analysis stratified for DM.
In conclusion, HBV is still a highly prevalent infection and support is urgently needed in order to implement effective and integrated preventive measures among the people most likely to be affected. Further studies are required in order to investigate the epidemiology of HBV infection among various communities, and to evaluate its relationship with other diseases.