Serologic and Clinical Outcomes of 1536 Alaska Natives Chronically Infected with Hepatitis B Virus

  1. Brian J. McMahon, MD;
  2. Peter Holck, PhD;
  3. Lisa Bulkow, MS; and
  4. Mary Snowball, RN
  1. From Viral Hepatitis Program, Alaska Native Medical Center, and Arctic Investigations Program, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Public Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services, Anchorage, Alaska.
    1. Figure 1.
      View larger version:
      Figure 1. Time until seroconversion from hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positivity to negativity.

      Data shown for carriers of hepatitis B surface antigen who were persistently HBeAg positive throughout follow-up (solid line); those who seroconverted from HBeAg positivity to anti-HBe positivity (dashed line); those who seroconverted from HBeAg to anti-HBe, then had reactivation of HBeAg (dotted line); and those who were initially anti-HBe negative, then had reactivation and tested HBeAg positive (smaller dashed line). Those who were persistently HBeAg negative and anti-HBe positive (group D in Table 1) are not shown.

    2. Figure 2.
      View larger version:
      Figure 2. Estimated survival curve showing time to loss of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) from first HBeAg-positive determination at 10, 20, and 50 years of age.
    3. Figure 3.
      View larger version:
      Figure 3. Survival curve showing years to seroconversion to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) negativity in carriers, by hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)/anti-HBe status.

      Line patterns represent carriers who seroconverted from HBeAg to anti-HBe; those who seroconverted from HBeAg to anti-HBe, then had reactivation of HBeAg; those who were persistently HBeAg negative and anti-HBe positive; and those who were initially anti-HBe positive, then had reactivation of HBeAg.

    4. Figure 4.
      View larger version:
      Figure 4. Survival curves showing years to seroconversion from hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity to HBsAg negativity in carriers, by age at the start of the study.

      The center solid line represents participants 20 years of age or older; the center dotted line represent participants younger than 20 years of age. The lines on either side of the center lines are 95% CIs, which are largely nonoverlapping.

    Summary for Patients

    « Previous | Next Article »Table of Contents

    This Article

    1. Ann Intern Med November 6, 2001 vol. 135 no. 9 759-768
    1. AbstractFREE
    2. » Figures
    3. Full Text
    4. Full Text (PDF)
      1. Summary for Patients

    Rapid Responses

    1. Submit a response
    2. No responses published

    Current Issue

    1. November 3, 2009, 151 (9)
    1. Alert me to current issues