Characteristics of patients with chronic hepatitis B in France: Predominant frequency of HBe antigen negative cases

Background/Aims: An increasing prevalence of HBe antigen (HBeAg) negative chronic hepatitis B has been recently reported in many countries. The aim of this study was to analyze the frequency and the characteristics of HBeAg-negative as compared with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B in France. Methods: Eight hundred and sixty-five patients with histologically proven chronic hepatitis B seen in 26 University centers were included. The proportion with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B was 72% and higher in patients born in Africa, Middle East, Eastern, and Southern Europe than in those of French or Asian origin. HBeAg-negative patients were significantly older (p < 0.001) and had lower ALT levels and HBV DNA serum levels (p < 0.01) than HBeAg-positive patients. An unknown source of infection was more prevalent in HBeAg-negative patients (p < 0.05). Fibrosis score (p < 0.05) and proportion of cirrhosis (p < 0.01) were significantly higher in HBeAg-negative patients. Age older than 50 years, male gender and viral load lower than 5 logs(10) copies/mL were independently associated with cirrhosis. Results: HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B is predominant in France. This observation is important for an optimized clinical management and future therapeutic trials in chronic hepatitis B. (c) 2006 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.