Identification of risk factors for hepatitis B and C in Peshawar, Pakistan

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B and C need immediate worldwide attention as the infection rates are too high. More than 240 million people have chronic (long-term) liver infections. Every year, about 600,000 people die globally due to the acute or chronic consequences of hepatitis B and more than 350,000 people die from hepatitis C-related liver diseases. METHODS: Our study was designed as a case-control, descriptive study. It was conducted through formal interviews by using structured questionnaires. A total of 100 cases were included, with four controls for each case. RESULTS: This study confirms household contact, history of dental work, history of surgery, sexual contact, and history of transfusion (blood and its components) as the main risk factors which are responsible for the increased prevalence of hepatitis. CONCLUSION: The important risk factors, responsible for the high prevalence of hepatitis B and C in our society are household contact, history of dental work, history of surgery, sexual contact, and history of transfusion (blood and its components). The odds ratio of probability for these risk factors are: 4.2 for household contact history, 4.1 for history of dental work, 3.9 for sexual contact, 2.7 for history of surgery, and 2.1 for history of transfusion. Associations of other predictor variables (diabetes status, education level, profession, contact sports, intravenous drug abuse, residence, immunosuppression, and skin tattoos) were not statistically significant.