Increased risk of hepatitis B virus infection amongst individuals with diabetes mellitus

There have been reports of hepatitis B outbreaks amongst diabetics in long-term care facilities, suggesting that risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is higher in this population. However, the magnitude of the risk and the incidence of HBV infection amongst the general diabetic population in China remains unknown. Data from a cohort study conducted in Mianyang City, Sichuan Province, China, were retrospectively analyzed in order to address this question. Demographic information was collected using a custom-designed questionnaire, and blood samples were tested for HBV using ELISA. We used multivariate logistic regression to explore the relationship between HBV infection and diabetes, while adjusting for age, sex, region, medical insurance, exposure history, and HBV vaccination. During 2013–2014, a total of 189766 adults were surveyed, of which 7382 were newly infected with HBV, corresponding to an incidence of 3.89%. In this study population, there were 4982 diabetic patients and 182710 non-diabetic individuals. Amongst those with diabetes, 265 (5.32%) were newly infected with HBV. In contrast, 7038 (3.85%) in the non-diabetic population were newly infected with HBV. The relative risk (RR) of HBV infection was 43% higher amongst those diagnosed with diabetes than amongst those not diagnosed (RR 1.43, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.26–1.63). These results suggest that the risk of HBV infection is higher amongst individuals diagnosed with diabetes mellitus in Mianyang City, Sichuan Province, China. Hepatitis B vaccination and continuous infection control practices may help to reduce HBV infection in diabetic patients, and should be considered for diabetes management.