Low Hepatitis B Immunity Among Ukrainian Refugee Children and Adolescents in Poland: Need for Targeted Screening and Vaccination
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Design and Participants
2.2. Data Collection and Serological Testing
2.3. Statistical Analysis
2.4. Ethical Approval
3. Results
3.1. Descriptive Characteristics of the Study Group (Table 1)
3.2. Comparison of Clinical and Laboratory Variables Stratified by Anti-HBs Serostatus (≥10 IU/L) (Table 2 and Table 3)
3.3. Relationship Between Chronic Illness and Vaccination Status (Table 4)
3.4. Age-Related Trends in Antibody Positivity and Vaccination
3.5. Chronic Hepatitis B Cases
4. Discussion
5. Limitations
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Characteristic | Value |
---|---|
Age (years) | |
N | 1317 |
Mean (SD) | 9.94 (4.49) |
Median (Q1–Q3) | 10.00 (7.00–13.00) |
BMI | |
N | 1308 |
Mean (SD) | 17.59 (3.71) |
Median (Q1–Q3) | 16.78 (14.87–19.50) |
Anti-HBs antibodies (IU/L) | |
N | 1065 |
Mean (SD) | 184.01 (314.13) |
Median (Q1–Q3) | 20.00 (2.00–191.00) |
Anti-HBs antibodies (presence) | |
0 (none) | 318 (24.05%) |
1 (present) | 999 (75.57%) |
No available data | 5 (0.38%) |
Anti-HBs antibodies (presence ≥10 IU/L) | |
1 (none) | 463 (35.02%) |
0 (present) | 859 (64.98%) |
No available data | 0 (0.0%) |
Sex | |
0 (Male) | 657 (49.70%) |
1 (Female) | 664 (50.23%) |
No available data | 1 (0.08%) |
Characteristic | Anti-HBs Antibodies | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
0 (Positive, ≥10 IU/L) | 1 (None) | p-Value | ||
N = 859 | N = 463 | |||
Age (years) φ | ||||
Mean (SD) | 11.50 (4.28) | 9.11 (4.39) | <0.001 | |
Median (Q1–Q3) | 12.00 (9.00–15.00) | 9.00 (6.00–12.00) | ||
BMI φ | ||||
Mean (SD) | 18.63 (4.13) | 17.03 (3.34) | <0.001 | |
Median (Q1–Q3) | 18.08 (15.62–20.82) | 16.19 (14.67–18.79) | ||
Leukocytes (WBC) [×103/µL] φ | ||||
Mean (SD) | 6.85 (2.23) | 7.44 (2.72) | <0.001 | |
Median (Q1–Q3) | 6.54 (5.60–7.90) | 6.90 (5.60–8.60) | ||
Neutrophils (NEUT) [×103/µL] φ | ||||
Mean (SD) | 3.46 (1.43) | 3.66 (2.93) | 0.289 | |
Median (Q1–Q3) | 3.22 (2.57–4.06) | 3.10 (2.31–4.16) | ||
Lymphocytes (LYMPH) [×103/µL] φ | ||||
Mean (SD) | 2.53 (1.17) | 3.34 (3.59) | <0.001 | |
Median (Q1–Q3) | 2.48 (1.95–3.08) | 2.76 (2.22–3.63) | ||
Eosinophils, n (%) χ | 0.027 | |||
Normal (0) | 744 (66.02%) | 377 (33.45%) | ||
Abnormal (1) | 111 (58.12%) | 80 (41.88%) | ||
No data | 4 (40.00%) | 6 (60.00%) | ||
Serum Iron, n (%) χ | 0.350 | |||
Normal (0) | 676 (65.38%) | 350 (33.85%) | ||
Abnormal (1) | 178 (62.90%) | 105 (37.10%) | ||
No data | 4 (33.33%) | 8 (66.67%) | ||
Total IgE, n (%) χ | 0.817 | |||
Normal (0) | 535 (65.32%) | 284 (34.68%) | ||
Abnormal (1) | 317 (64.69%) | 173 (35.31%) | ||
No data | 7 (53.85%) | 6 (46.15%) | ||
TSH, n (%) χ | <0.001 | |||
Normal (0) | 813 (66.37%) | 412 (33.63%) | ||
Abnormal (1) | 41 (47.67%) | 45 (52.33%) | ||
No data | 5 (45.45%) | 6 (54.55%) |
Characteristic | Anti-HBs Antibodies | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
0 (Positive, ≥10 IU/L) | 1 (None) | p-Value | ||
n = 859 | n = 463 | |||
Significant chronic diseases, n (%) χ | 0.042 | |||
Absent (0) | 611 (66.78%) | 304 (33.22%) | ||
Present (1) | 247 (61.14%) | 157 (38.86%) | ||
No data | 1 (50.00%) | 1 (50.00%) | ||
Referral to specialist clinic, n (%) χ | 0.469 | |||
No (0) | 762 (65.30%) | 405 (34.70%) | ||
Yes (1) | 82 (62.12%) | 50 (37.88%) | ||
No data | 15 (65.22%) | 8 (34.78%) | ||
Referral to hospital, n (%) χ | 0.847 | |||
No (0) | 807 (65.03%) | 434 (34.97%) | ||
Yes (1) | 37 (63.79%) | 21 (36.21%) | ||
No data | 15 (65.22%) | 8 (34.78%) |
Characteristic | Vaccination Status 0—Complete | Vaccination Status 1—Absent | Vaccination Status 2—Incomplete | No Data | p-Value χ | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Significant chronic diseases | ||||||
Absent (0) | 784 (85.68%) | 14 (1.53%) | 117 (12.79%) | 0 (0.00%) | <0.001 | |
Present (1) | 316 (78.02%) | 26 (6.42%) | 60 (14.81%) | 3 (0.74%) | ||
Missing data | 0 (0.00%) | 0 (0.00%) | 2 (100.00%) | 0 (0.00%) | ||
Referral to Specialist Clinic | ||||||
No (0) | 981 (84.06%) | 31 (2.66%) | 153 (13.11%) | 2 (0.17%) | 0.571 | |
Yes (1) | 106 (80.30%) | 5 (3.79%) | 20 (15.15%) | 1 (0.76%) | ||
Missing data | 13 (56.52%) | 4 (17.39%) | 6 (26.09%) | 0 (0.00%) | ||
Referral to Hospital | ||||||
No (0) | 1036 (83.48%) | 35 (2.82%) | 167 (13.46%) | 3 (0.24%) | 0.680 | |
Yes (1) | 51 (87.93%) | 1 (1.72%) | 6 (10.34%) | 0 (0.00%) | ||
Missing data | 13 (56.52%) | 4 (17.39%) | 6 (26.09%) | 0 (0.00%) |
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Stopyra, L.; Banach, K.; Wood, M.; Stala, J.; Merklinger-Gruchała, A. Low Hepatitis B Immunity Among Ukrainian Refugee Children and Adolescents in Poland: Need for Targeted Screening and Vaccination. Vaccines 2025, 13, 816. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines13080816
Stopyra L, Banach K, Wood M, Stala J, Merklinger-Gruchała A. Low Hepatitis B Immunity Among Ukrainian Refugee Children and Adolescents in Poland: Need for Targeted Screening and Vaccination. Vaccines. 2025; 13(8):816. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines13080816
Chicago/Turabian StyleStopyra, Lidia, Karolina Banach, Magdalena Wood, Justyna Stala, and Anna Merklinger-Gruchała. 2025. "Low Hepatitis B Immunity Among Ukrainian Refugee Children and Adolescents in Poland: Need for Targeted Screening and Vaccination" Vaccines 13, no. 8: 816. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines13080816
APA StyleStopyra, L., Banach, K., Wood, M., Stala, J., & Merklinger-Gruchała, A. (2025). Low Hepatitis B Immunity Among Ukrainian Refugee Children and Adolescents in Poland: Need for Targeted Screening and Vaccination. Vaccines, 13(8), 816. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines13080816