Rex KF, Andersen S, Krarup HB. Hepatitis B among Inuit: A review with focus on Greenland Inuit. World J Hepatol 2015; 7(9): 1265-1271 [PMID: 26019742 DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v7.i9.1265]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Henrik Bygum Krarup, MD, PhD, Section of Molecular Diagnostics, Clinical Biochemistry, Aalborg University Hospital, Hobrovej 18-22, Reberbansgade, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark. h.krarup@rn.dk
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Hepatol. May 28, 2015; 7(9): 1265-1271 Published online May 28, 2015. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v7.i9.1265
Hepatitis B among Inuit: A review with focus on Greenland Inuit
Karsten Fleischer Rex, Stig Andersen, Henrik Bygum Krarup
Karsten Fleischer Rex, Stig Andersen, Department of Internal Medicine, Queen Ingrid’s Hospital, Nuuk 3900, Greenland
Karsten Fleischer Rex, Stig Andersen, Arctic Health Research Centre, Clinical Institute, Aalborg University Hospital, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark
Karsten Fleischer Rex, Greenland Centre for Health Research, Institute of Nursing and Health Science, University of Greenland, Nuuk 3900, Greenland
Stig Andersen, Department of Geriatric and Internal Medicine, Aalborg University Hospital, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark
Henrik Bygum Krarup, Section of Molecular Diagnostics, Clinical Biochemistry, Aalborg University Hospital, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark
Author contributions: Rex KF, Andersen S and Krarup HB developed the idea; Rex KF outlined of the first draft; Rex KF, Andersen S and Krarup HB made the final draft of the manuscript, and collected all relevant references for review; all authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest: Nothing to declare.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Henrik Bygum Krarup, MD, PhD, Section of Molecular Diagnostics, Clinical Biochemistry, Aalborg University Hospital, Hobrovej 18-22, Reberbansgade, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark. h.krarup@rn.dk
Telephone: +45-97-665630 Fax: +45-99-166995
Received: December 1, 2014 Peer-review started: December 2, 2014 First decision: December 26, 2014 Revised: January 28, 2015 Accepted: February 10, 2015 Article in press: February 12, 2015 Published online: May 28, 2015 Processing time: 170 Days and 12.7 Hours
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a disease with a highly variable course. Chronic HBV infection may cause end-stage liver disease including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, which is the 3rd most common cause of cancer related death due to the poor prognosis. The prevalence of HBV infection is low in many countries. Still, it remains important due to the potential consequences of the disease. HBV is endemic in the Arctic with serologic markers of chronic HBV infection in up to 29% of the population in some areas in Greenland. Interestingly, Inuit populations rarely show signs of liver disease despite the fact that around half of all Inuit has been exposed to HBV and around 8% of Inuit are chronically infected with HBV. These findings have been consistent in surveys conducted for more than four decades among Arctic Inuit. We thus review HBV infection in the Arctic with focus on Greenland Inuit and compared with Inuit in Canada, Alaska and Siberia. The aspects described include epidemiology and monitoring of the disease, as well as treatment and the risk of liver cancer.
Core tip: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is endemic in the Arctic with serologic markers of chronic HBV infection in up to 29% of the population in some areas in Greenland. Interestingly, Inuit populations in Greenland and Canada rarely show signs of liver disease as opposed to Alaskan Inuit where hepatocellular carcinoma was common before introduction of vaccination. Wheather this is related to a special favorable genotype or other host or environmental factors remains to be clarified. This paper is a review of present status.
