Association of core promoter mutations of hepatitis B virus and viral load is different in HBeAg(+) and HBeAg(-) patients

Table 2 Comparison of hepatitis B e antigen (+) and hepatitis B e antigen (-) patients

Characteristics	Total	HBeAg(+)	HBeAg(-)	P-value
n (%)	179 (100.0)	71 (39.7)	108 (60.3)	-
Gender (male/female) (% male)	129/50 (72.1)	47/24 (66.2)	82/26 (75.9)	0.106
Age (yr, mean ± SD)	45.8 ± 12.3	40.7 ± 11.5	49.2 ± 11.7	< 0.001
AFP [ng/mL, median (min-max)]	13.2 (0.1-3 295 000.0)	10.9 (0.2-230472.0)	19.9 (0.1-3 295 000.0)	0.008
AST [IU/L, median (min-max)]	66.0 (7.0-3618.0)	55.0 (12.0-635.0)	71.0 (7.0-3618.0)	0.028
ALT [IU/L, median (min-max)]	50.0 (1.0-860.0)	47.0 (1.0-748.0)	52.0 (6.0-860.0)	0.535
AST/ALT	1.3 (0.1-120.6)	1.1 (0.1-30.8)	1.4 (1.4-120.6)	0.022
Serum HBV DNA (log10 IU/mL, mean ± SD)	5.6 ± 2.0	6.5 ± 1.8	5.0 ± 1.9	< 0.001
< 20 000 IU/mL, n (%)	40 (22.3)	6 (8.5)	34 (31.5)	< 0.001
≥ 20 000 IU/mL, n (%)	139 (77.7)	65 (91.5)	74 (68.5)
Clinical status
CH, n (%)	64 (35.8)	36 (50.7)	28 (25.9)	0.003
LC, n (%)	65 (36.3)	19 (26.8)	46 (42.6)
HCC, n (%)	50 (27.9)	16 (22.5)	34 (31.5)
Genotype
B, n (%)	132 (73.7)	50 (70.4)	82 (75.9)	0.259
C, n (%)	47 (26.3)	21 (29.6)	26 (24.1)

CH: Chronic hepatitis; LC: Liver cirrhosis; AFP: α-fetoprotein; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; HBeAg: Hepatitis B e antigen.