Risk Factors and Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B and C Infections among Hemodialysis Patients in Tehran.

Background and objective: viral hepatitis is the most frequent disease as a complication of hemodialysis treatment. because of the importance of reducing the risk of infection, we decided to study the seroprevalence and possible predisposing factors of hepatitis b and c infections.materials and methods: the prevalence of hepatitis b and c serologic markers and risk factors were assessed in 130 hemodialysis patients in two university-affiliated hospitals in tehran. sample population included 52 women and 78 men with the mean age of 52.9 years and the mean duration of hemodialysis of 4.83 years. results: the seroprevalence of antibodies against the hepatitis c virus (anti-hcv) and hepatitis b surface antigen (hbsag) were 8.5% and 4.6%. out of all patients,55.4% and of vaccinated individuals, 71.3% had positive hepatitis b surface antigen antibody (hbsab). there was also a significant correlation between anti-hcv positivity and the mean duration of hemodialysis (p=0.00). however, there was no relationship found between the history of transfusion and anti-hcv or hbsag positivity (p = 0.98, p = 0.71). among aminotransferases, aspartate transaminase (ast) level had only a relationship with positive hbsag (p = 0.02). conclusion: correlation of duration of hemodialysis with the presence of antibodies against hcv strongly supports that the hemodialysis environment is as a source of transmission of this disease. high prevalence rate of hbsag positivity in the hemodialysis units needs more restricted rules for immunization with hbv before beginning the hemodialysis program.