Prevalence of anti-HAV antibodies in multitransfused patients with beta-thalassemia

Table 1 General characteristics and prevalence of anti-HAV antibodies in beta-thalassemic patients and controls

Characteristics	Thalassemic patients (n = 182)	Healthy donors (n = 209)	P value
Age (yr)	31.6 ± 9.4	31.2 ± 8.5	0.662
Sex (M/F)	88/94	103/106	0.854
AST (IU/L)1	43.9 ± 29.1	23.9 ± 6.9	< 0.0005
ALT (IU/L)	52.6 ± 37.8	23.5 ± 10.6	< 0.0005
GGT (IU/L)	31.8 ± 26.6	22.5 ± 14	< 0.0005
Anti-HAV IgM (+)2	0	0
Anti-HAV IgG (+)	133 (73.1%)	38 (18.2%)	< 0.0005

¹Normal levels: Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) < 40 IU/L, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) < 40 IU/L, gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) < 50 IU/L;

²Anti-HAV: Hepatitis A virus antibody.