Table 1.
Comparison of baseline features of hepatitis B surface antigen positive patients, according to different cofactors (mean ± SD) n (%)
| Variable | HBsAg positive(n = 924) | HBsAg/anti-HDV positive (n = 59) | HBsAg/anti-HCV positive (n = 130) | HBsAg/anti-HIV positive (n = 6) | HBsAg/alcohol abuse (n = 138) | HBsAg/two or more cofactors (n = 109) | P value |
| Age (yr) | 48.4 ± 14.0 | 46.5 ± 11.7 | 55.2 ± 14.7 | 37.0 ± 3.6 | 52.7 ± 11.7 | 45.8 ± 12.1 | < 0.001 |
| Males | 606 (66.5) | 41 (71.9) | 87 (68.0) | 6 (100) | 126 (92.6) | 92 (86.8) | < 0.001 |
| In-patients | 171 (18.9) | 15 (25.4) | 29 (22.7) | 0 | 20 (14.7) | 30 (28.0) | 0.060 |
| Out-patients | 732 (81.1) | 44 (74.6) | 99 (77.3) | 6 (100) | 116 (85.3) | 77 (72.0) | |
| Prevalent cases | 769 (83.2) | 53 (89.8) | 111 (85.4) | 6 (100) | 115 (83.3) | 95 (87.2) | 0.500 |
| Incident cases | 155 (16.8) | 6 (10.2) | 19 (14.6) | 0 | 23 (16.7) | 14 (12.8) | |
| Born in Italy | |||||||
| North | 192 (21.0) | 11 (18.6) | 36 (27.7) | 3 (50.0) | 32 (23.7) | 35 (32.4) | 0.010 |
| Centre | 195 (21.3) | 5 (8.5) | 16 (12.3) | 0 | 26 (19.3) | 21 (19.4) | |
| South/islands | 484 (52.9) | 40 (67.8) | 76 (58.5) | 2 (33.3) | 73 (54.1) | 49 (45.4) | |
| Born Abroad | 44 (4.8) | 3 (5.1) | 2 (1.5) | 1 (16.7) | 4 (2.9) | 3 (2.8) | |
| Asymptomatic carrier | 233 (33.5) | 3 (6.0) | 17 (17.7) | 1 (100) | 19 (17.6) | 5 (6.0) | < 0.001 |
| Chronic hepatitis1 | 313 (45.0) | 25 (50.0) | 41 (42.7) | 0 | 39 (36.1) | 35 (42.2) | |
| Liver cirrhosis | 115 (16.5) | 22 (44.0) | 30 (31.3) | 0 | 43 (39.8) | 39 (47.0) | |
| HCC | 34 (4.9) | 0 | 8 (8.3) | 0 | 7 (6.5) | 4 (4.8) | |
| ALT (× ULN) (median, IQR) | 1.0 (1.0-1.8) | 2.2 (1.1-4.8) | 1.4 (1.0-2.1) | 1.5 (1.1-1.8) | 1.1 (1.0-2.1) | 1.8 (1.0-2.9) | < 0.001 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 25.0 ± 3.4 | 25.5 ± 5.0 | 24.8 ± 3.1 | 22.8 ± 2.0 | 26.1 ± 3.5 | 25.6 ± 4.1 | 0.006 |
| Years of schooling | < 0.001 | ||||||
| < 6 | 239 (26.3) | 9 (16.4) | 46 (36.5) | 1 (16.7) | 62 (46.3) | 31 (28.7) | |
| 6-13 | 369 (40.7) | 31 (56.4) | 53 (42.1) | 1 (16.7) | 53 (39.5) | 60 (55.6) | |
| > 13 | 299 (33.0) | 15 (27.2) | 27 (21.4) | 4 (66.6) | 19 (14.2) | 17 (15.7) | |
| HBeAg positive | 116 (12.6) | 9 (15.3) | 10 (7.7) | 4 (66.7) | 10 (7.2) | 15 (13.8) | < 0.001 |
| HBeAg negative | 808 (87.4) | 50 (84.7) | 120 (92.3) | 2 (33.3) | 128 (92.8) | 94 (86.2) |
1
Only subjects with liver biopsy. HBsAg: Hepatitis B surface antigen; HDV: Hepatitis D virus; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; HIV: Human immunodeficiency virus; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; × ULN: Times the upper limit of the normal; IQR: Interquartile range; BMI: Body mass index; HBeAg: Hepatitis B e antigen.