@article {17436,
	title = {Prevalence, risk factors and evaluation of a screening strategy for chronic hepatitis C and B virus infections in healthy company employees},
	journal = {Eur J EpidemiolEur J EpidemiolEur J Epidemiol},
	volume = {17},
	number = {8},
	year = {2001},
	note = {Sypsa, VHadjipaschali, EHatzakis, AengNetherlands2002/06/28 10:00Eur J Epidemiol. 2001;17(8):721-8. doi: 10.1023/a:1015671627577.},
	pages = {721-8},
	abstract = {A cross-sectional study was carried out in employees of 17 Greek companies with the aim of assessing the prevalence of hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) virus, identifying associated prognostic/risk factors and evaluating the effectiveness of a questionnaire as a pre-screening tool. All participants were asked to complete a questionnaire and a random sample of them was asked to provide a blood sample for hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc), hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibodies to hepatitis C (anti-HCV) testing. Individual questions or combinations of them were evaluated in terms of their ability to detect HBV or HCV(+) cases. Of 9085 eligible employees, 6074 (67\%) completed the questionnaire. Of 990 samples obtained, 19.9\% were anti-HBc(+), 2.6\% HBsAg(+) and 0.5\% anti-HCV(+). All anti-HCV(+) cases had multiple parenteral risk factors. Multiple logistic regression identified associations between anti-HBc and older age, family members with chronic hepatitis, job category and history of transfusion before 1992. HBsAg(+) was associated with older age and history of transfusion before 1992. None of the risk/prognostic factors had sufficient sensitivity and specificity for HBV but report of at least one risk factor identified all HCV(+) cases. Anti-HCV screening of those with at least two parenteral risk factors not only identified all anti-HCV(+) cases but also resulted in 86\% decrease in the screening cost. Under the light of recent treatment advances, targeted questionnaire-based screening of asymptomatic people may prove to be a cost-effective way to face hepatitis C.},
	keywords = {Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Analysis of Variance, Chi-Square Distribution, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Greece/epidemiology, Hepatitis B Antibodies/blood, Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/blood, Hepatitis B/*diagnosis/epidemiology, Hepatitis C Antibodies/blood, Hepatitis C/*diagnosis/epidemiology, Humans, Immunoenzyme Techniques, Logistic Models, Male, Mass Screening, Middle Aged, Occupational Health Services/*organization \& administration, Prevalence, Prognosis, Program Evaluation, Risk Factors, Sensitivity and Specificity, Surveys and Questionnaires},
	isbn = {0393-2990 (Print)0393-2990 (Linking)},
	author = {Sypsa, V and Hadjipaschali, E. and Hatzakis, A}
}
