Immunity against hepatitis-B among freshman students at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, academic year 2012-2013

Vaccination against hepatitis B surface antigen is the most effective way for prevention and has the capability to induce protective antibody levels (> 10 IU per liter) for most vaccinated people, but antibody titer has been shown to decrease over time. It is highly important to investigate this subject especially in the medical community and related professions as high-risk groups. Hence, this study was conducted on freshman students in academic year 2012-2013 at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, due to concerns about their immunity against hepatitis B and its complications, particularly for medical students and lack of information on its status. A total of 441 freshman students were examined for HBsAb titers in this descriptive study in 2012 at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. As all students had been vaccinated according to the national protocol, vaccination card was not requested from them. Given the kit used, HBsAb titers ≥10 mIU/mL was determined as a protective level. The findings were also analyzed according to gender. From a total of 441 students, 221 students (50%) were identified as immune people. Mean HBsAb titer was 139 mIU/mL in immune individuals and 2.9 mIU/mL in non-immune people. The difference between mean HBsAb titer in the two groups was found significant using t-test (p<0.01). Mean HBsAb titer was 80.4 mIU/mL in women and 50mIU/mL in men. The findings showed that the antibody titer against hepatitis B surface antigen was significantly higher in women than in men (p<0.05). Also, HBcAb levels in 135 students showed that 1.1% of participants had developed the antibody through contact with the causative agents and the rest of them through hepatitis B vaccination. It appears that immunization against hepatitis B virus is low and particularly a concern for the medical team. Therefore, it is recommended the causes be studied and necessary measures be taken for the immunization of this group of students.