Immune response to hepatitis B vaccination and factors associated with poor immune response among healthcare workers

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major global health problem, and healthcare workers (HCWs) are at high risk for HBV infection. Current guidelines strongly recommend immunization and screening for high-risk groups. Aims: We evaluated immunization and screening for HBV vaccination, assessed post-vaccination immune status of HCW's and characterized potential risk factors associated with poor immune response. Materials and Methods: From January 2010 to December 2018, we retrospectively analyzed comprehensive health checkup data for a total of 303 HCWs who received an HBV vaccination. After vaccination, HBV surface antibody (anti-HBs) titers were collected and the distribution of immune response types was determined. Risk factors for poor immune responses were identified using logistic regression. Results: A total of 213 HCWs were analyzed after exclusion based on the exclusion criteria. In total, 28 (13.2%) HCWs had anti-HBs titers