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Hepatitis B poses serious threat to liver

Category: Liver Diseases

Individuals who are infected with hepatitis B may want to consider liver panel testing to assess the health of their organ. New research suggests that it may be more damaging to the liver than hepatitis C.

The findings may change the way medical professionals view the two varieties of the infection. Hepatitis C is generally perceived as the greater public health problem, but this may simply be due to the fact that more people have it than have hepatitis B.

In the current study, researchers from Johns Hopkins University tracked the medical record 680 men infected with either type of hepatitis. Each participant was followed for up to 26 years or until death.

The results showed that both groups had similar all-cause mortality rates, but individuals infected with hepatitis B had nearly twice the mortality rate when it came to liver-related causes of death.

Findings from the study could help medical professionals understand the risks faced by each set of patients, the researchers said. This may enable them to develop more effective treatment options.