Hepatitis B virus surface antigen as an interpretation factor for serum biochemical tests in young adults

With ages between 14-17 years, none of the 2157 subjects studied in the central Taiwan area had ever been inoculated with the hepatitis B vaccine. Whether a hepatitis B virus surface variable, either the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) or its antibody (anti-HBs), was an interpretation factor in reading laboratory data for a common serum biochemical test was analyzed by two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The two independent variables were gender and the hepatitis B surface variable. Either HBsAg or paired HBsAg/anti-HBs was a necessary factor for the seven items:total protein, albumin, total cholesterol, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and lactate dehydrogenase. Anti-HBs alone was not an effective agent for the above seven tests and four additional tests, blood urea nitrogen, uric acid, creatinine, and total bilirubin. The analyses yielded no interaction between gender and either hepatitis B surface variable for all tests except uric acid.