Hepatitis B virus seropositivity is not associated with increased risk of carotid atherosclerosis in Taiwanese

Background Chronic infection has been proposed to increase the risk of atherosclerosis in several experimental and epidemiological studies. However, the relationship of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and atherosclerosis remains controversial. We conducted this cross-sectional study to evaluate the association of carotid atherosclerosis with hepatitis B seropositivity. Methods and results In this cross-sectional study, we collected data from subjects undergoing health examination, including B-mode carotid ultrasonography, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) status and assessment of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, at our institutes in Taiwan between 2002 and 2003. Cases with chronic hepatitis C had been excluded. Of the 508 eligible subjects, 87 (17.1%) were positive for HBsAg and only six of them were positive for HBeAg. Compared with HBsAg negative subjects, the ORs (and 95% CIs) for the subjects with chronic hepatitis B to have carotid atherosclerosis were 1.24 (0.73–2.10) indexed by the presence of carotid atherosclerotic plaque (Intima-media thickness, IMT ≥ 1.3 mm), 0.74 (0.38–1.42) by maximal common carotid artery IMT ≥ 75th percentile, and 1.09 (0.62–1.90) by extracranial carotid artery atherosclerotic score ≥ 2, with the use of multivariate logistic regression analyses. Conclusion Hepatitis B virus seropositivity was not associated with an increased severity of carotid atherosclerosis in Taiwanese.