Occurrence of HBV and HCV and their Probable Risk Factors in the Newly Registered HIV/AIDS Patients in the Center for Control of Communicable Diseases in 2016

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infections could affect the prognosis of disease in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS. We aimed to determine HBV/HCV co-infection in HIV-positive individuals; and to compare the characteristics of different subgroups of HIV/HBV/HCV.

In this cross-sectional study, 908 of 2134 newly-registered HIV-positive individuals in the Iranian Ministry of Health in 2016 were recruited. Participants were divided into four subgroups (HBV-/HCV-, HBV+/HCV-, HBV-/HCV+, and HBV+/HCV+). Demographic data and HIV transmission routes were compared between subgroups.

Among908 participants, 505 (60.6%) were HBV-/HCV-, 20 (2.2%) were HBV+/HCV-, 318 (35%) were HBV-/HCV+, and 20 (2.2%) were HBV+/HCV+. Mean age of participants was 36.9 years; 67% were male and 47% were married. The commonest high-risk behaviors were unsafe sex (43.5%) and IV drug-abuse (34.4%). There was no statistically significant difference between the mean ages of subgroups. All HBV+/HCV+ ,92% of HBV-/HCV+, 50% of HBV+/HCV- and 52% of HBV-/HCV- were men and the difference between groups was statistically significant (p-value: <0.001). Seventy four percent of HBV-/HCV+ and 80% of HBV+/HCV+ reported IV drug-abuse. Thirty percent of HBV-/HCV- and 40% of HBV+/HCV- were spouse of HIV-positive or high-risk individuals.

More than 30% of newly registered HIV-positive individuals in the Iranian Ministry of Health in 2016 were co-infected with either HBV or HCV. Frequency of men, marital status and high-risk behaviors were different in various subgroups.