Lead Sponsor

National Taiwan University Hospital

Collaborators

Age

18 - No limit years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

•Participants were recruited from students, alumni, faculty and staff members with chronic HBV infection (positive HBsAg serostatus ≥6 months) in a university of northern Taiwan from August 1, 2009 to July 01, 2010. Only participants aged 18 and older were included.

•Excluded were:
•* (a) those who had been diagnosed as chronic liver diseases like chronic hepatitis C infection (Anti-HCV (+)), autoimmune hepatitis, Wilson disease, alcoholic liver diseases, drug-related hepatitis, decompensated liver diseases, cirrhosis, or malignant hepatic tumors;
•(b) those who had undergone liver transplantation or major operations for liver except cholecystectomy;
•(c) men who consumed more than 30 gram of alcohol per week or women who consumed more than 20 gram of alcohol per week;
•(d) women who were pregnant;
•(e) those who had current medications for any types of chronic diseases except for hyperglycemia, elevated blood pressure, or dyslipidemia within six months.