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Health Conditions
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Hepatitis B
What are the risk factors?
Risk factors are circumstances or conditions that can increase the chances of developing a condition. Some of these behaviors can be changed and taking special precautions may be helpful for limiting others. Risk factors for hepatitis B include:
- Receiving a tattoo or body piercing with contaminated instruments
- Living in or have lived in an area where the disease is common, especially among children
- Injectable drug use
- Poor socioeconomic conditions
- Unprotected sexual activity with homosexual or bisexual men
- Unprotected sexual activity with more than one partner in six months
- Travel to high-risk countries in Africa, Asia, South America, and Eastern and Mediterranean parts of Europe
- Exposure to bodily secretions of an infected individual
- Using a razor or toothbrush of an infected individual
Other individuals who may be at greater risk are:
- Dialysis patients
- Health care workers
- Individuals who received a blood transfusion prior to July 1992
- Individuals with hemophilia, especially those who used blood-derived clotting factors before 1987
- Infants born to infected mothers
- Sexual or household contacts of infected individuals
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Note: The above information is intended to supplement, not substitute for, the expertise and judgment of your physician, pharmacist, or other healthcare professional. It is not intended to diagnose a health condition, but it can be used as a guide to help you decide if you should seek professional treatment or to help you learn more about your condition once it has been diagnosed.
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What are the risk factors?
