ABSTRACT

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and diabetes mellitus are major health problems associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The published literature suggests an association of diabetes mellitus with liver disease. However, the role of HBV infection in diabetes aetiology is still controversial. The present study was conducted to explore the veracity of this enigmatic association among Pakistani subjects.

Methodology: The blood samples and clinical information were collected from chronic HBV-positive patients Group 1 (n = 120), and their age and gender were matched with those of the healthy control subjects Group 2 (n = 120). Hepatitis B virus-positive patients were also subdivided into two groups; (Group 1a and Group 1b) with and without liver cirrhosis for evaluation of the prevalence of diabetes.

Results: The study revealed that there were statistically significant differences in the biochemical parameters in the HBV-positive and control groups. There was no correlation between diabetes and HBV with the prevalence of diabetes mellitus being similar in subjects with and without HBsAg (11.7% in the positive group and 10% in the controls). Since there were a relatively large number (32.5%) of HBV-positive patients with liver cirrhosis, a comparison of biochemical parameters was also carried out to evaluate the extent of the liver damage and its association with diabetes. During the comparison of HBV patients with and without cirrhosis for the prevalence of diabetes, no aetiologic association was found with diabetes.

Conclusion: Study revealed that there was no correlation between HBV infection and diabetes despite the significantly different biochemical parameters in the HBV-infected group and control subjects.