Analysis of primary care electronic health record data of people living with hepatitis B virus: infection and hepatocellular carcinoma risk associated with socio-economic deprivation

Objectives We set out to characterise chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in the primary care population in England and investigate risk factors for progression to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Study design Retrospective cohort study. Methods We identified 8039 individuals with CHB in individuals aged ≥18 years between 1999 and 2019 in the English primary care database QResearch. HCC risk factors were investigated using Cox proportional hazards modelling. Results Most of those with a record of CHB were males (60%) of non-White ethnicity (>70%), and a high proportion were in the most deprived Townsend deprivation quintile (44%). Among 7029 individuals with longitudinal data, 161 HCC cases occurred. Increased HCC hazards were significantly associated with male sex (adjusted hazards ratio [aHR] 3.17, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.92–5.23), in the fifth deprivation quintile as compared to the third quintile (aHR 1.69, 95% CI 1.01–2.84), with older age (for age groups 56–65 and ≥66 years, compared to 26–35 years, aHRs 2.82 [95% CI 1.45–5.46] and 3.76 [95% CI 1.79–7.9], respectively), Caribbean ethnicity (aHR 3.32, 95% CI 1.43–7.71, compared to White ethnicity), ascites (aHR 3.15, 95% CI 1.30–7.67), cirrhosis (aHR 6.55, 95% CI 4.57–9.38) and peptic ulcer disease (aHR 2.26, 95% CI 1.45–3.51). Conclusions Targeting interventions and HCC surveillance at vulnerable groups is essential to improve CHB outcomes and to support progress towards international goals for the elimination of hepatitis infection as a public health threat.