Hepatitis B and C need immediate worldwide attention as the
infection rates are too high. More than 240 million people have chronic
(long-term) liver infections. Every year, about 600,000 people die globally due
to the acute or chronic consequences of hepatitis B and more than 350,000
people die from hepatitis C-related liver diseases.
Our study was designed as a case-control, descriptive study.
It was conducted through formal interviews by using structured questionnaires.
A total of 100 cases were included, with four controls for each case.
This study confirms household contact, history of dental
work, history of surgery, sexual contact, and history of transfusion (blood and
its components) as the main risk factors which are responsible for the
increased prevalence of hepatitis.
The important risk factors, responsible for the high
prevalence of hepatitis B and C in our society are household contact, history
of dental work, history of surgery, sexual contact, and history of transfusion
(blood and its components). The odds ratio of probability for these risk
factors are: 4.2 for household contact history, 4.1 for history of dental work,
3.9 for sexual contact, 2.7 for history of surgery, and 2.1 for history of
transfusion. Associations of other predictor variables (diabetes status,
education level, profession, contact sports, intravenous drug abuse, residence,
immunosuppression, and skin tattoos) were not statistically significant.
Below: Sexual contact history versus hepatitis status
Below: Injection drug abuse history versus hepatitis status
By: Muhammad Shafiq, Muhammad Nadeem, Zeeshan Sattar, Sohaib Mohammad Khan, Sheikh Muhammad Faheem, Irfan Ahsan, Rabia Naheed,6 Tahir Mehmood Khattak,2 Shahzad Akbar,7 Muhammad Talha Khan, Muhammad Ilyas Khan, and Muhammad Zubair Khan
Correspondence: Muhammad Nadeem, Nishtar Medical College and Hospital, House 277, B-C, Block 17, Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab, Pakistan
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