Background. Italy has recently become a land of immigration. Two hundred and fifty thousand carriers are immigrants and chronic HBV infection is the prevalent form. Considering the elevated number of foreigners resident in our province and the potential risk of transmission to local people, we retrospectively investi-gated the patterns of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in 154 patients (76 foreigners, 78 Italians) observed in our Institution, with regard to demographic and clinical/laboratory characteristics. Results. The immigrants were younger (mean age 31 years) compared to Italians (51.5) and mainly came from East Europe. Regarding exposure to HBV, the intra-familial risk factor was most frequently observed in foreigners, compared to Ita-lians (p = 0.03). Foreigners also showed a higher prevalence of HBeAg positive forms, HDV co-infection (7.9%) and abnormal ALT and/or HBV-DNA values, compared to Italians. HBeAg positivity was more associa-ted with increased ALT (OR = 36.6, p = 0.001) than with elevated HBV viremia (OR = 6.5, p = 0.049); age was a protective factor (OR = 0.1; p = 0.014). No significant association was found between increased ALT and foreign nationality. The simultaneous presence of increased ALT and viremia was more frequent among fo-reigners, (OR = 7.6, p = 0,014) and increased with age (OR = 1.06, p = 0.013). Antiviral therapy was given in 7.8% of foreign citizens. Conclusion. Immigrants constitute a vulnerable population subgroup that would benefit from a more active approach regarding doctor-patient relationship for early recognition of HBV and treatment programmes.
Epidemiological, clinical and laboratory features of chronic hepatitis b infection in a cohort of immigrant and Italian patients from Ferrara, Italy
CONTINI, Carlo;BADIA, Lorenzo;CULTRERA, Rosario;GRILLI, Anastasio;DE TOGNI, Aldo
2012
Abstract
Background. Italy has recently become a land of immigration. Two hundred and fifty thousand carriers are immigrants and chronic HBV infection is the prevalent form. Considering the elevated number of foreigners resident in our province and the potential risk of transmission to local people, we retrospectively investi-gated the patterns of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in 154 patients (76 foreigners, 78 Italians) observed in our Institution, with regard to demographic and clinical/laboratory characteristics. Results. The immigrants were younger (mean age 31 years) compared to Italians (51.5) and mainly came from East Europe. Regarding exposure to HBV, the intra-familial risk factor was most frequently observed in foreigners, compared to Ita-lians (p = 0.03). Foreigners also showed a higher prevalence of HBeAg positive forms, HDV co-infection (7.9%) and abnormal ALT and/or HBV-DNA values, compared to Italians. HBeAg positivity was more associa-ted with increased ALT (OR = 36.6, p = 0.001) than with elevated HBV viremia (OR = 6.5, p = 0.049); age was a protective factor (OR = 0.1; p = 0.014). No significant association was found between increased ALT and foreign nationality. The simultaneous presence of increased ALT and viremia was more frequent among fo-reigners, (OR = 7.6, p = 0,014) and increased with age (OR = 1.06, p = 0.013). Antiviral therapy was given in 7.8% of foreign citizens. Conclusion. Immigrants constitute a vulnerable population subgroup that would benefit from a more active approach regarding doctor-patient relationship for early recognition of HBV and treatment programmes.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
