Effects of sex and generation on hepatitis B viral load in families with hepatocellular carcinoma

Table 5 Intra-family comparison of hepatitis B virus viral load among hepatitis B surface antigen-positive siblings n (%)

HBV DNA level1	Maternal HBsAg			Total
	Positive	Unknown	Negative
Total male siblings	12	9	7	28
All high level	7 (58.33)2	2 (22.22)	2 (28.57)	11 (39.3)3
All low level	1 (8.33)2	2 (22.22)	1 (14.29)	4 (14.3)3
Older > younger	3 (25.00)	3 (33.33)	3 (42.86)	9 (32.1)
Younger > older	1 (8.33)	1 (11.11)	1 (14.29)	3 (10.7)
Other	0 (0.00)	1 (11.11)	0 (0.00)	1 (3.6)
Total female siblings	11	3	4	18
All high level	2 (18.18)2	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	2 (11.1)3
All low level	6 (54.55)2	1 (33.33)	3 (75.00)	10 (55.6)3
Older > younger	1 (9.09)	1 (33.33)	0 (0.00)	2 (11.1)
Younger > older	1 (9.09)	0 (0.00)	1 (25.00)	2 (11.1)
Other	1 (9.09)	1 (33.33)	0 (0.00)	2 (11.1)

¹Low HBV DNA level, < 1 × 10⁵ cps/mL; high HBV DNA level, ≥ 1 × 10⁵ cps/mL.

²OR (95%CI) = 21 (1.50-293.25), P = 0.024;

³OR (95%CI) = 29.96 (2.54-353.17), P = 0.007; logistic regression. HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HBsAg: Hepatitis B surface antigen.