Data from the US suggest that chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients have aged in the past decade. However, the burden of non-liver comorbidities have not been well characterized in Taiwan, where CHB is very prevalent.
Our study examined this issue as it presented between 2001 and 2011in Taiwan.
This study identified adult patients (≥18 years) who were diagnosed with CHB in 2001, 2006, and 2011, from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD). Changes in demographic characteristics, prevalence of non-liver comorbidities, and medication usage over the decade were examined. Non-CHB controls were adults without CHB diagnosis from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000 (LHID2000).
A total of 102,158, 252,809, and 338,200 eligible patients were identified in 2001, 2006, and 2011, respectively. The mean age significantly advanced from 45.4 to 52.3 years over the decade (P<0.001). The prevalence of comorbidities, including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, stroke, chronic kidney disease, and bone fracture all significantly increased between 2001 and 2011 (all P<0.001), as so were medication usage (all P<0.001). Moreover, within each study period, compared to non-CHB controls, CHB patients were also older and more likely to have metabolic and cardiovascular comorbidities (all P<0.001). In addition, the annual non-liver mortality in the CHB population significantly increased from 2001 to 2011.
Over a decade, the CHB population in Taiwan has aged with a higher non-liver comorbidity burden and increasing non-liver mortality. These findings may provide information to care providers in the monitoring and management of CHB patients.

© 2020 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Author