Aims/hypothesis  

We examined the association between chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and clinical outcomes in a consecutive cohort of Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes.

Subjects, materials and methods  

Between 1995 and 1999, 2,838 type 2 diabetes patients underwent comprehensive assessments and blood screening for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). The risk of occurrence of cardiovascular events and end-stage renal disease (defined as need for dialysis, doubling of serum creatinine or serum creatinine ≥500 μmol/l) was compared between HBsAg-positive and HBsAg-negative groups.

Results  

At baseline, HBV-infected patients (n=286, 10.1%) were younger (51.0±11.5 vs 53.7±12.7 years, p=0.004), had earlier onset of diabetes (51.0±11.5 vs 53.7±12.7 years, p=0.001) and a higher frequency of retinopathy (28 vs 22%, p=0.03) than non-HBV-infected patients. After a median follow-up of 3.5 years (interquartile range: 1.7–5.9 years) and adjustment of age, glycaemic control and other potential confounding factors, HBV-infected patients were more likely to develop end-stage renal disease than non-HBV infected patients (8.7 vs 6.4%) with a hazard ratio of 4.5 (95% CI 1.1–18.6). The difference in the frequency of cardiovascular endpoints was not statistically significant.

Conclusions  

In Chinese type 2 diabetes patients, chronic HBV infection was associated with increased risk of end-stage renal disease, and this was independent of other potential confounding factors. Early identification of HBV status and close surveillance of renal function are important in patients with type 2 diabetes who are living in areas where HBV is endemic or who are at risk of chronic HBV infection.