Factors Associated with Hepatitis B Exposure among People who Report Using Methamphetamine: NHANES 2009-2016

BACKGROUND: With the nation's focus on the opioid crisis, methamphetamine has made a comeback, potentially increasing risk for hepatitis B. We examined factors associated with hepatitis B virus (HBV) exposure among people who reported ever using methamphetamine in a nationally representative survey. METHODS: We used the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to examine factors associated with HBV exposure among participants who reported ever using methamphetamine using bivariate and multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Overall, 847 participants met the study inclusion criteria. In multivariable logistic regression, female sex (adjusted odds ratio, 3.83; 95% confidence interval, 1.65-8.90), living below the poverty threshold (3.17; 1.39-7.21), injection drug use (4.89; 1.95-12.26), active hepatitis C virus infection (3.39; 1.10-12.26), and identifying as men who have sex with men (28.21; 5.19-153.38) were significantly associated with HBV exposure. CONCLUSIONS: The odds of HBV exposure for female participants who reported using methamphetamine were 4 times than that for male participants. Poverty, injection drug use, and hepatitis C virus infection were also associated. As methamphetamine use increases, it is critical to identify those at risk of acquiring HBV infections in order to target testing and vaccination.