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Baseline Characteristics and Treatment Patterns of the Patients Recruited to the China Registry of Hepatitis B
Shan Shan1, Hong You1, Junqi Niu2
1Liver Research Center, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Key Laboratory of Translational Medicine on Liver Cirrhosis, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases, Beijing, China.
Insights
Chronic hepatitis B affects middle-aged men, with about half being HBeAg-positive. Nucleos(t)ide analogues are the primary treatment, and preferred options like entecavir increased significantly.
Area of Science:
- Hepatology
- Virology
- Public Health
Background:
- Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a significant global health concern.
- Understanding patient demographics and treatment patterns is crucial for managing HBV.
- The China Registry of Hepatitis B provides a large dataset for such analyses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize baseline features of patients with chronic HBV infection.
- To analyze treatment profiles in a large cohort of HBV-infected individuals.
- To assess trends in the use of preferred antiviral therapies over time.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional analysis of 40,431 patients from the China Registry of Hepatitis B.
- Inclusion of patients with various chronic HBV stages, excluding those with hepatocellular carcinoma.
- Analysis of demographic, clinical, laboratory, and treatment data.
Main Results:
- The study included 40,431 patients; median age was 43 years, 65.2% were male, and 51.3% were hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive.
- The most frequent diagnoses were chronic hepatitis B (81.0%) and cirrhosis (9.3%).
- Among treated patients (n=21,228), nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs) were used by 88.0%, with preferred NAs (entecavir/tenofovir) increasing from 13.5% (2003) to 79.7% (2016).
Conclusions:
- Middle-aged men represent the majority of chronic hepatitis B patients in this cohort.
- HBeAg positivity is common, indicating ongoing viral replication in a significant proportion of patients.
- Nucleos(t)ide analogues are the mainstay of HBV therapy, with a substantial rise in the adoption of preferred agents over time.
Abstract:
Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major public health problem globally. Here, we describe the baseline characteristics and treatment profiles of HBV-infected patients recruited to the China Registry of Hepatitis B. Inclusion criteria were patients with different stages of chronic HBV infection and complete key data. Exclusion criteria were patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The baseline clinical, laboratory and treatment profiles were analyzed. Finally, 40,431 patients were included. The median age was 43 years, with 65.2% being men and 51.3% being positive for hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg). The most common initial diagnosis was chronic hepatitis B (81.0%), followed by cirrhosis (9.3%), inactive carrier of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) (6.7%), and immune tolerant phase of hepatitis B infection (3.0%). Among the 21,228 patients who were on treatment, 88.0%, 10.0% and 2.0% received nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs), interferon or combination of NAs and interferon, respectively. The proportion of patients who received preferred NAs (entecavir or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) had increased from 13.5% in 2003 to 79.7% in 2016. We concluded that middle-aged men accounted for most of the patients with chronic hepatitis B in this cross-sectional study. About half of the patients were HBeAg-positive. NAs were the most commonly used therapy, and use of the preferred NAs had steadily increased in the past decade.
