Prevalence of hepatitis B and associated factors in prisoners

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of HBsAg marker in prisoners of the Brazilian prison system, correlating it to associated factors. Methods: An epidemiological, cross-sectional study was conducted in prison units with closed or semi-open regime (n=12), totaling 2,131 participant prisoners. Data were collected in an interview, followed by rapid testing for Hepatitis B (HBsAg). Simple, bivariate and multivariate descriptive analyses were carried out, with the use of logistic regression with the p value settled at 0.05. Results: The prevalence of positive HBsAg was 0.5%, with a statistically significant association with the variables "does not like to wear condoms" (ORa=3.63) and "does not know how to prevent sexually transmissible diseases" (ORa=5.02). Conclusion: The estimated prevalence was equal to or lower than that found in the general population of the country and the results proved that there are factors statistically associated with the prevalence of HBsAg positivity in the studied population.