Table 3.
Cox regression analysis of factors associated with the off-treatment HBsAg reversion in IFN-induced HBsAg clearance group.
| Characteristics | Univariate Cox regression |
Multivariate Cox regression |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HR (95% CI) | p-value | HR (95% CI) | p-value | |
| Age, years | ||||
| >37 vs. ≤37 | 0.506 (0.216–1.183) | .116 | - | - |
| Sex | ||||
| Male vs. female | 0.801 (0.238–2.695) | .720 | - | - |
| Therapeutic regimen | ||||
| IFN+NA vs. IFN only | 1.335 (0.498–3.581) | .566 | - | - |
| Duration of IFN treatment, weeks | ||||
| >62 vs. ≤62 | 1.294 (0.573–2.922) | .535 | - | - |
| Duration of IFN consolidation treatment, weeks | ||||
| >24 vs. ≤24 | 0.518 (0.222–1.212) | .129 | - | - |
| HBV vaccination | ||||
| Vaccinated vs. unvaccinated | 0.876 (0.383–2.002) | .753 | - | - |
| Weak response to vaccination vs. unvaccinated | 2.448 (1.029–5.823) | .043 | 2.448 (1.029–5.823) | .043 |
| Strong response to vaccination vs. unvaccinated | 0.246 (0.066–0.907) | .035 | 0.246 (0.066–0.907) | .035 |
Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; HR, hazard ratio; IFN, interferon; NA, nucleoside/nucleotide analogues.
Note: HBsAg reversion was defined as HBsAg level >0.05 IU/ml after HBsAg clearance. Weak or strong response to HBV vaccination refers to the highest HBsAb level ≤100 mIU/ml or > 100 mIU/ml after injection of vaccine, respectively. Continuous variables in the Cox regression model were converted to dichotomous variables based on median values.