Seroprevalence of hepatitis B and factors potentially associated in a population-based study in Medellin, Colombia

The seroprevalence of hepatitis B (HB) and of potentially associated factors in Medellin, Colombia, were investigated 17 years after the start of universal vaccination. Biological and sociodemographic data from a population survey with a multistage random sampling were analyzed in 6-64 year old individuals. HB surface antigen, total HB core antibodies and HB surface antibodies, and in some cases IgM antibodies to HB core antigen, were tested in 2077 samples. Factors potentially associated with and natural, and vaccine immunity relative to susceptibility (absence of any marker) were analyzed using a multinomial logistic regression. The prevalence of serological patterns was: chronic infection 0.20% (95% CI 0.11-0.71), vaccine immunity 25.10% (95% CI 21.72-28.83) and natural immunity 2.60% (95% CI 1.80-3.74). No markers were detected in 71.30% (95% CI 67.70-74.83) of the individuals and evidence of recent infection was not detected. Relative to the absence of markers, natural immunity was potentially associated with age (6-17 years and 41-64 years) and sleeping less than 6 hours, while vaccine immunity was associated with age (6-17 years), reporting vaccination against HB, belonging to high socioeconomic strata, home ownership and being obese, after adjusting for other variables. These results may be a population effect of mass vaccination. It is recommended to complete the vaccination schedule and to study in detail, persistence of antibodies and the role of obesity and socioeconomic strata in the vaccine immunity.