Incidence of Hepatitis B in Tennessee Prisoners

• NCJ Number: 120441
• Journal: Journal of Infectious Diseases Volume: 152 Issue: 1 Dated: (July 1985) Pages: 214-217
• Author(s): M D Decker; W K Vaughn; J S Brodie; R H Hutcheson Jr; W Schaffner
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 4 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Of the 759 adult male inmates in Tennessee prisons surveyed in 1982 for hepatitis B virus (HBV) serum markers, 0.9 percent had hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and 29.5 percent had one or more HBV markers.

Abstract

Multiple logistic regression analysis found that risk factors for the possession of HBV markers were, from most to least significant: increasing age, IV drug use out of prison, IV drug use in prison, race, increasing education, history of military service, and duration of prior and current imprisonment. Hepatitis B infection in prisoners is less common than had been thought, but much more common than in the general population. It chiefly stems from socially disapproved behaviors outside of prison. Incarceration may offer susceptible high-risk persons the best opportunity for immunization. 3 tables, 14 references.