Effects of co‐infection with Clonorchis sinensis on the sex hormones levels in male patients with chronic hepatitis B

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the levels of sex hormones in male hepatitis B patients co‐infected with Clonorchis sinensis (C. sinensis). METHODS: A total of 136 male individuals were enrolled in this study, including 27 healthy controls, 28 patients with C. sinensis mono‐infection, 19 patients with only chronic hepatitis B, 18 patients with post‐hepatitis B liver cirrhosis, 26 chronic hepatitis B patients co‐infected with C. sinensis, and 18 post‐hepatitis B liver cirrhosis patients coinfected with C. sinensis. Serum levels of progesterone (P), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), prolactin (PRL), and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) in these groups were measured. RESULTS: The results showed that compared with the LC group, the LC(+) C. sinensis co‐infected group had an increase in E2 but decrease in T and FSH. The levels of E2 in CHB(+) C. sinensis co‐infected patients were significantly higher than those in CHB mono‐infected patients, but the significantly lower levels of T were observed. Compared with HCs group, the LC group showed significant increase in all terms of sex hormones, except PRL. By contrast, the CHB mono‐infected group presented an apparent decrease in E2, T, and PRL than the HCs group. However, there were no significant differences in sex hormone levels between the C. sinensis mono‐infected patients and HCs. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that C. sinensis co‐infection aggravates the sex hormone disturbance in HBV patients at both chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis stages, providing evidences for potential strategies in disease prevention and treatment.