Nazzal Zaher, Sobuh Inam
Assistant Professor in Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Box 7,707, Nablus, Palestine.
BMC Res Notes. 2014 Mar 28;7:190. doi: 10.1186/1756-0500-7-190.
The Hepatitis B (HB) infection is a significant health problem in Palestine, which is categorized as an HB virus moderate endemic area, with the HB carrier rate ranging from 2-6%. The aim of this study is to determine the risk factors of Hepatitis transmission in the northern areas of Palestine in order to help prevent and control this prevalent health problem.
A case-control study was implemented to achieve the study objectives. One hundred HB virus seropositive cases and another 100 seronegative controls were included in the study. Univariate analysis and a logistic regression model were performed to examine probable risk factors of acquisition of HB infections.
Univariate analysis showed that HB case-patients were more likely to report having a history of blood transfusion, dental visits, hospitalization, Hejamat, sharing shaving equipments, intravenous drug use, or living abroad than controls were. The logistic regression model revealed a history of dental visits to be the most significant risk factor, (P value <0.001, OR 5.6; 95% CI 2.8-11.1).
The presence of these risk factors emphasizes the need for both increasing the uptake of HB vaccine and implementing risk-targeted public health education. Development and enforcement of appropriate infection control guidelines for dental care services are important to prevent HB virus transmission as well.
乙型肝炎（HB）感染是巴勒斯坦一个严重的健康问题，该国被归类为HB病毒中度流行地区，HB携带者率在2%至6%之间。本研究的目的是确定巴勒斯坦北部地区HB传播的风险因素，以帮助预防和控制这一普遍存在的健康问题。
实施一项病例对照研究以实现研究目标。该研究纳入了100例HB病毒血清学阳性病例和另外100例血清学阴性对照。进行单因素分析和逻辑回归模型以检查获得HB感染的可能风险因素。
单因素分析表明，与对照组相比，HB病例患者更有可能报告有输血史、看牙史、住院史、拔火罐史、共用剃须设备史、静脉吸毒史或在国外居住史。逻辑回归模型显示看牙史是最显著的风险因素，（P值<0.001，比值比5.6；95%置信区间2.8 - 11.1）。
这些风险因素的存在强调了既需要提高HB疫苗的接种率，又需要实施针对风险的公共卫生教育。制定和执行牙科护理服务适当的感染控制指南对于预防HB病毒传播也很重要。
