Association between metabolic factors and chronic hepatitis B virus infection

There are limited data regarding the relationship between chronic hepatitis B virus(HBV)infection and metabolic factors.This article aims to highlight the link of metabolic factors with hepatitis B surface antigen(HBsAg)serostatus,HBV load,and HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Although HBsAg-positive serostatus was positively correlated with a high risk of metabolic syndrome in students,chronic HBV-infected individuals have high serum adiponectin levels.The androgen pathway in HBV carriers with a low body mass index is more triggered which leads to enhanced HBV replication.High HBV load was inversely associated with obesity in hepatitis B e antigen(HBeAg)-seropositive HBV carriers;while in HBeAg-seronegative HBV carriers,high HBV load was inversely related to hypertriglyceridemia rather than obesity.For overweight and obese HBV-infected patients,high HBV load was positively associated with serum adiponectin levels.Several large cohort studies have revealed a positive link of diabetes with incidence of HBV-related HCC.However,the association between incidence of HCC and metabolic factors other than diabetes is still inconclusive.More long-term prospective studies should elucidate the association of chronic HBV infection and its outcomes with metabolic factors in clinical practice.