Chronic hepatitis B in Korean Americans: decreased prevalence and poor linkage to care

Chronic hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection is a major cause of liver related morbidity and mortality. HBV infection remains largely underdiagnosed in Asian American population, and it is also poorly linked to clinical care. We, therefore, assessed the HBV prevalence and evaluated linkage to care among Korean Americans in order to develop strategic plans to reduce the impact of HBV in a high risk community.

Serologic screening and survey were provided to 7157 Korean American adults (age 21-100) in New Jersey between December 2009 and June 2015. All participants were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs), and hepatitis B core IgG antibody (anti-HBc). Additional survey was conducted on the subjects chronically infected with HBV on their history of infection. Self-administered questionnaires were employed to evaluate demographic and epidemiologic characteristics.

Of those 7157screened, 171 (2.4 %) were HBV infected, 2736(38.2 %) were susceptible to HBV, and 4250(59.4 %) were immune. The prevalence of chronic HBV varied between the age groups: 1.18 % (age21-30); 2.53 % (age 31-40); 2.76 % (age 41-50); 2.90 % (age 51-60); 2.06 % (age 61-70); and 1.37 % (age 71-100). The rate of HBsAg was significantly higher in males (3.04 %) as compared to females (1.93 %). At least 75 % of these HBV infected subjects had been previously diagnosed, but were not engaged in care.

This screening study suggests that the HBV prevalence in Korean Americans is significantly lower than currently understood. On the other hand, many of the individuals chronically infected with HBV cannot access care, suggesting a poor linkage-to-care (LTC). Further, a large percentage of the population is still susceptible to HBV. Study findings will be used to develop strategies to tailor community-based HBV screenings and LTC to the high risk populations.