Hernandez M T, Klausner J D, McFarland W, Wong E, Bolan G, Molitor F, Ruiz J D
San Francisco Department of Public Health and the California Department of Health Services, Berkeley, USA.
Sex Transm Dis. 2000 Oct;27(9):539-44. doi: 10.1097/00007435-200010000-00007.
The risk of sexually transmitted hepatitis B virus infection is proportionally higher for young adults and women. Low socioeconomic groups have high rates of hepatitis B infection with no identified source of transmission. The prevalence and correlates of transmission of hepatitis B virus among young women of low socioeconomic status have not been well documented.
To determine the population-based prevalence and correlates of sexually acquired hepatitis B virus infection in young low-income women in the San Francisco Bay Area.
A three-county, door-to-door serosurvey of hepatitis B virus core antibody among young women living in low-income areas was conducted from April 1996 to January 1998. Multivariate analysis of sexually acquired hepatitis B virus infection excluded participants of Asian or Pacific Islander ethnicity or with a history of intravenous drug use or transfusion.
The prevalence of sexually acquired hepatitis B virus infection was 6.4% (95% CI, 4.7%-8.1%). Correlates of infection were black race (odds ratio, 3.9; 95% CI, 1.2-11.9 compared with white race) and herpes simplex virus type 2 infection (odds ratio, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.0-3.9).
Young black women have a higher risk of sexually acquired hepatitis B virus infection. Herpes simplex virus type 2 infection may predispose to hepatitis B virus infection and/or be a marker for lifetime sexual risk behavior.
