Antibodies to hepatitis B virus surface antigen and survival of hemodialysis patients – a prospective study

ABSTRACT

Background: Antibodies to hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen (anti-HBs) may develop in response to HBV vaccination or infection. We investigated whether anti-HBs are an independent predictor of survival in hemodialysis (HD) patients.

Methods: A 6-year prospective study was conducted in 532 HD patients. Survival analyses were performed using the Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox proportional hazard model.

Results: In HBV non-infected patients, age (P = 0.005), coronary artery disease (P = 0.002), and non-response to HBV vaccine (P = 0.008) were the independent risk factors of all-cause mortality. In HBV infected patients, the only independent predictor of all-cause mortality was coronary artery disease (P = 0.002).

Conclusion: The ability to produce the protective anti-HBs titer in response to HBV vaccine is a positive predictor of survival in HBV non-infected HD patients.

KEYWORDS:

• Age
• anti-HBs titer
• coronary artery disease
• diabetic nephropathy
• HBV infection
• HBV vaccination
• hemodialysis
• hepatitis B virus
• parathyroid hormone
• survival probability

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the physicians of the dialysis centers for their consent in collecting the participants’ data.

Declaration of interests

This study was funded by the Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland, grant number 502-01-02225363-03679. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

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Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland [502-01-02225363-03679].