Low bone mineral density in chronic hepatitis B virus infection: A case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: Osteoporosis is the well-known major complication in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Fewer reports are available of the relationship between bone loss and chronic HBV infection. We investigated the bone mineral density (BMD) and prevalence of osteoporosis in chronic HBV patients in comparison with healthy subjects.

METHODS: We assessed 148 chronic HBV patients and 148 age- and gender-matched healthy controls by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) for determination of BMD. T-score was used to define bone status according to the World Health Organization's classification.

RESULTS: The BMD values were significantly lower in HBV patients in all scan of specific regions compared with the controls (P < 0.05). The prevalence of osteoporosis in either of lumbar spine (LS), total hip (TH) or the femoral neck (FN) was significantly higher in the HBV patients group compared with the healthy controls. The rate of osteopenia and osteoporosis for HBV patients aged 45-54 years was significantly higher than that of the healthy controls.

CONCLUSIONS: Chronic HBV infection was associated with low BMD and increased the risk of developing subsequent osteoporosis.