The seroepidemiology of isolated core antibody against hepatitis B among Taiwanese adults - A large hospital-based study.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: This study aims to investigate the prevalence of isolated core antibodies against hepatitis B (IAHBc) in different birth cohorts using a large medical record database. METHODS: Hepatitis B viral serological test data were collected from a chart cloud database at a medical center in Taiwan between January 2006 and December 2018. The data collected included birth year, sex, hepatitis B viral markers (HBsAg, anti-HBs or anti-HBc), and hepatitis B vaccination records. Enrolled patients were grouped according to their birth year into three categories: ≤ 1986, 1987-1992, and ≥ 1993, which correspond to no neonatal hepatitis B immunization, plasma-derived HB vaccine (PDHBV), and recombinant hepatitis B vaccine (RHBV), respectively. Prevalence of hepatitis B viral seromarkers, including IAHBc, was calculated by sex, age groups, and birth cohorts. Those who underwent repeated hepatitis B serology tests were included for further analysis to follow up their serostatus. RESULTS: A total of 117,335 adults with complete hepatitis B serologic data were analyzed. Among them, 6641 individuals (5.7 %) were found to have IAHBc. The prevalence of IAHBc was 11.4 %, 0.8 %, and 0.3 % among those born before 1986, between 1987 and 1992, and after 1992, respectively. Among the 690 subjects with repeated blood tests and complete hepatitis B serologic data, 551 cases (79.9 %) remained IAHBc. The other cases included resolved infection status (13.9 %), seronegativity for three HB seromarkers (3 %), and carrier of hepatitis B virus (2.3 %). CONCLUSION: The management of individuals with IAHBc should be tailored to their age, vaccination status, and risk factors for occult hepatitis B viral infection.

Relationships between white blood cell count and insulin resistance, glucose effectiveness, and first- and second-phase insulin secretion in young adults.

The Increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been observed in younger adults. Insulin resistance [IR], decreased first-, second-phase insulin secretion, and glucose effectiveness (GE) (IR, first phase insulin secretion [FPIS], second phase insulin secretion [SPIS], and GE), denoted as diabetes factors (DF), are core for developing T2DM. A body of evidence has shown that inflammation contributes to the development of diabetes. In the present study, our goals were first, evaluate the relationships between white blood cell (WBC) count and, second, examine the relative tightness between the 4 DFs to WBC count. Thus, the pathophysiology of T2DM in Chinese young men could be more understood.21112 non-obese males between 18 to 27 years old were recruited (mean age: 24.3 ±â€Š0.017), including 1745 subjects with metabolic syndrome. DFs were calculated by the published equations by our groups as follows:The association between DFs and WBC count was analyzed using a simple correlation. The r-values of the simple correlation are regarded as the tightness of the relationships.Higher WBC, FPIS, SPIS, IR, age, BMI, blood pressure, FPG, TG, Cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and lower HDL-C and GE were observed in subjects with metabolic syndrome. A similar trend was seen across the quartiles of WBC levels. Among the 4 DFs, GE has the highest r-value (r = -0.093, P < .001), followed by IR (r = 0.067, P < .001), SPIS (r = 0.029, P < .001) and FPIS (r = 0.027, P < .001).Elevated WBC count is significantly associated with all the 4 DFs and the relative order of the tightness, from the highest to the lowest, are GE, IR, SPIS, and FPIS in Chinese young men.