Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2006 Aug;44(2):341-51.
doi: 10.1002/hep.21252.

Relationship of cosmetic procedures and drug use to hepatitis C and hepatitis B virus infections in a low-risk population

Lu-Yu Hwang  1 , Jennifer R Kramer, Catherine Troisi, Lara Bull, Carolyn Z Grimes, Rob Lyerla, Miriam J Alter
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Relationship of cosmetic procedures and drug use to hepatitis C and hepatitis B virus infections in a low-risk population

Lu-Yu Hwang et al. Hepatology. 2006 Aug.

Abstract

We conducted an anonymous cross-sectional seroprevalence study of a population with a low frequency of injection drug use to determine whether persons with a history of cosmetic procedures, such as tattooing and body piercing, or intranasal drug use were at increased risk for hepatitis C virus (HCV) or hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Students 18 years and older from eight college campuses in Houston, Texas, were invited to participate in the study. Of the 7,960 who completed a self-administered questionnaire and provided a blood sample, 5,282 U.S.- or Canadian-born participants were analyzed. Their median age was 21, 62% were female, 42% were white, 26% black, 22% Hispanic, and 10% Asian or other. Two percent reported injection drug use, 13.7% intranasal drug use, 21.2% body piercings, and 25.2% tattoos. The overall prevalence of HCV infection was 0.9% and of HBV infection was 5.2%. Higher HCV prevalence was independently associated with increasing age (odds ratio [OR] per year = 1.11; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.08-1.14), history of injection drug use (OR = 18.24; 95% CI = 7.74-42.92), blood transfusion before 1991 (OR = 3.21; 95% CI = 1.02-10.12), and incarceration (OR = 3.48; 95% CI = 1.45-8.37). Among 5,066 students who denied injecting drugs, HCV prevalence was 0.8% in those who reported intranasal drug use and 0.6% each in those who reported tattoos and those who reported body piercing. Increased HBV prevalence was associated with high-risk sexual behaviors and black or Asian race. In conclusion, there was no increased risk for HCV or HBV infection in low-risk adults based solely on history of cosmetic procedures or snorting drugs. However, proper infection control practices for cosmetic procedures should be followed, illegal drug use discouraged, and hepatitis B vaccination provided to adolescents and sexually active adults.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms