Abstract
Background
With the nation’s focus on the opioid crisis, methamphetamine has made a comeback, potentially increasing risk for hepatitis B. We examined factors associated with hepatitis B virus (HBV) exposure among people who reported ever using methamphetamine in a nationally representative survey.
Methods
We used the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to examine factors associated with HBV exposure among participants who reported ever using methamphetamine using bivariate and multivariable logistic regression.
Results
Overall, 847 participants met the study inclusion criteria. In multivariable logistic regression, female sex (adjusted odds ratio, 3.83; 95% confidence interval, 1.65–8.90), living below the poverty threshold (3.17; 1.39–7.21), injection drug use (4.89; 1.95–12.26), active hepatitis C virus infection (3.39; 1.10–12.26), and identifying as men who have sex with men (28.21; 5.19–153.38) were significantly associated with HBV exposure.
Conclusions
The odds of HBV exposure for female participants who reported using methamphetamine were 4 times than that for male participants. Poverty, injection drug use, and hepatitis C virus infection were also associated. As methamphetamine use increases, it is critical to identify those at risk of acquiring HBV infections in order to target testing and vaccination.
Association of Hepatitis C Virus Infection with Serum Iron Status: Analysis of Data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
