The Young Men's Survey phase II: hepatitis B immunization and infection among young men who have sex with men

Abstract

Objectives: We measured the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) immunization and HBV infection among men aged 23 to 29 years who have sex with men.

Methods: We analyzed data from 2834 men who have sex with men in 6 US metropolitan areas. Participants were interviewed and tested for serologic markers of immunization and HBV infection in 1998 through 2000.

Results: Immunization prevalence was 17.2%; coverage was 21.0% among participants with private physicians or health maintenance organizations and 12.6% among those with no source of health care. Overall, 20.6% had markers of HBV infection, ranging from 13.7% among the youngest to 31.0% among the oldest participants. Among those susceptible to HBV, 93.5% had regular sources of health care, had been tested for HIV, or had been treated for a sexually transmitted disease.

Conclusions: Although many young men who have sex with men have access to health care, most are not immunized against HBV. To reduce morbidity from HBV in this population, providers of health care, including sexually transmitted disease and HIV prevention services, should provide vaccinations or referrals for vaccination.

FIGURE 1—

Trends in hepatitis B infection among men aged 15 to 29 years who have sex with men, by age: Young Men’s Survey Phases 1 and 2, 1994 to 2000. Note. HBV = hepatitis B virus. HBV infection was defined as the presence of HBV core antibody or HBV surface antigen. Cities included in Young Men’s Survey (YMS) phase 1: Baltimore, Maryland; Dallas, Texas; Miami, Florida; Los Angeles and San Francisco, California; New York, New York; and Seattle, Washington. YMS phase 2 included all except San Francisco. Linear regression showed no significant differences between the slopes (P = .25) or intercepts (P = .13) of the YMS phase-1 and phase-2 samples. Vertical bars represent 95% confidence intervals. Dotted line represents linear estimate of trend.