Hepatitis B virus infection and coronary atherosclerosis: Results from a population with relatively high prevalence of hepatitis B virus

AIM: To investigate the possible association between hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and angiographically proven coronary artery disease (CAD) in a population with relatively high prevalence of HBV. METHODS: Sera from 434 patients who underwent coronary angiography were tested for HBV antigens (HBsAg, HBeAg) and antibodies (Anti-HBs, Anti-HBc and Anti-HBe) by ELISA. RESULTS: Seventy-seven percent (224/291) of the patients with CAD and 73.4% (105/143) of the patients without angiographic evidence of atherosclerosis were seropositive for HBV (P > 0.05). However, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were significantly higher in patients with CAD (P = 0.008), while lower in HBV seropositive population (P = 0.043 and P = 0.021 after adjustment for conventional risk factors). CONCLUSION: Our results suggested HBV infection negatively correlates with CRP levels, but seems not to be associated with coronary atherosclerosis. (C) 2005 The WJG Press and Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.