prevalence of hbsag and associated risk factors with hepatitis b infection among pregnant women in the northeast of iran

Background and aims: about 350 million people worldwide are carriers of the hepatitis b virus. iran is categorized as a country with a moderate prevalence of infection with this virus. in the developing countries, transmission from mother to fetus and newborn is considered as one of the main routes of transmission. therefore, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence of hepatitis b surface antigen (hbsag) and associated risk factors with hepatitis b infection among pregnant women in the northeast of iran. material and methods: in this descriptive cross-sectional study, 759 pregnant women had referred to the central laboratory of academic center for education, culture, and research (acecr) and medical laboratory of mashhad ghaem hospital for hbsag testing, following obtaining consent form, they were included in the study with simple non-probability sampling, and a questionnaire was completed about demographic characteristics and related factors. results: the mean age of the participants was 28.16±4.8 years. the prevalence of hbsag among pregnant women was reported 0.3%, and also, because only two cases of hbsag positive was found, a significant correlation was not found on socio-demographic factors such as; a history of hepatitis b vaccination and risk factors including a family history of hepatitis b or hepatitis c. conclusions: our study showed a low prevalence of hbsag positive among pregnant women. of course, further studies with more cases are necessary to achieve a real estimation of hbsag positive among pregnant women in the northeast of iran.