BACKGROUND/AIMS: We studied the prevalence of chronic hepatitis B, C and abnormality on liver function among the population in northwest area of Chungnam. METHODS: We have reviewed 40,112 adults who had received medical examination at health promotion center in Dankook university hospital. We studied them retrospectively about HBsAg, HBsAb, anti-HCV, and liver function test (LFT). RESULTS: Among the study subjects, 22,936 men and 17,176 women were involved. The overall seroprevalence of HBsAg was 4.2%. The prevalence in men (4.5%) was higher than that of women (3.7%) (p<0.001). The seroprevalence of HBsAg in their age was 5.1% in the 5th decade, 4.2% in the 2nd decade, 4.1% in the 4th decade, and 4.1% in the 6th decade. The overall seroprevalence of HBsAb was 65.1%. The overall seroprevalence of anti-HCV was 0.7%. After we reexamined them with HCV RNA or RIBA (Recombinant Immunoblot Assay), the prevalence of chronic hepatitis C was 0.09%. The LFT abnormality in total subjects was 11.4%. The LFT abnormality of chronic hepatitis B and C subjects was 21.72% and 63.2%. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of chronic hepatitis B and C was lower than that of previous studies. The prevalence of chronic hepatitis B in the 2nd decade was still high.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Female ; Hepatitis B Antibodies/blood ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/blood ; Hepatitis B, Chronic/*epidemiology/immunology/physiopathology ; Hepatitis C Antibodies/blood ; Hepatitis C, Chronic/*epidemiology/immunology/physiopathology ; Humans ; Korea ; Liver Function Tests ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; RNA, Viral/blood ; Retrospective Studies

Collagen type IV alpha 1 (COL4A1) plays an important role in construction of the basement membranes of all human tissues, especially vessels. Mutations in COL4A1 lead to various multisystemic dysfunctions, including hereditary porencephaly, hemorrhagic stroke, hemiplegia, cerebral small vessel disease, and nephropathy. In this study, we describe a neonatal case featuring a novel de novo COL4A1 mutation, manifesting as fetal intraventricular hemorrhage and porencephaly. This patient is one of the youngest to have been diagnosed with the most severe phenotype. Our experience may assist clinicians in the diagnosis and management of this extremely rare genetic condition.