Prevalence of serological markers for hepatitis‐B in patients with insulin‐dependent diabetes

The prevalence of serological markers for hepatitis-B infection was investigated in patients affected by insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM) living in different Italian regions and in the London area of the UK. Thirty five percent of Italian and 13% of British patients showed positive markers for hepatitis-B infection but none was found to be HBsAg carrier positive. When these results are compared with data observed in control populations in both countries, these findings suggest a higher prevalence of hepatitis-B infection in patients with IDDM. However, the negativity for HbsAg indicates that diabetic patients infected by the hepatitis-B virus have an effective capacity for clearance of HBsAg.