Academy of Medical Sciences of I.R. Iran Archives of Iranian Medicine 1029-2977 18 1 2015 01 01 Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B before Marriage: A Study on Marriage Candidates in the Southeast of Iran; Is It Worthy of Consideration? 0 0 EN Mohammad Mehdi Hayatbakhsh Sodaif Darvish Moghaddam Mohammad Javad Zahedi Mehdi Shafiei Mahdie Khalily Zade Mohammad Assare Journal Article OBJECTIVES: Hepatitis B virus infection is one of the most common causes of acute and chronic hepatitis worldwide. Furthermore, since most people with hepatitis B virus are asymptomatic, timely diagnosis is important for prevention. This study has evaluated the prevalence of Hepatitis B seromarkers in marriage candidates. DESIGN: In this Cross-sectional study, 370 marriage volunteers selected by the simple sampling method were investigated in 2011 – 2012. RESULTS: A total of 185 men and 185 women were investigated. Mean Age of participants was 24.7 years. The prevalence rates of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), anti hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs) and anti-hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) were 1.1%, 47.6% and 8.9% respectively. Frequency of HBsAg was 0.5% and 1.6% in men and women respectively. The prevalence of anti-HBs was 43.8% in men and 51.45% in women. Anti-HBs was more common in young people and those with higher levels of education and positive history of vaccination. The prevalence of anti-HBc was 8.1% and 9.7% in men and women respectively. CONCLUSION: Although Kerman is a low endemic area, due to the high risk of transmission to the spouse and offspring, screening for HBV study before marriage is recommended.