Research Paper Title

Chronic hepatitis B, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and physical fitness of military males: CHIEF study

Background

To investigate the association of chronic hepatitis B and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis with physical fitness in a Taiwanese military male cohort.

Methods

The researchers made a cross-sectional examination of this association using 3669 young adult military males according to cardiorespiratory fitness and hospitalisation events recorded in the Taiwan Armed Forces study. Cases of chronic hepatitis B (n = 121) were defined by personal history and positive detection of hepatitis B surface antigen. Cases of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (n = 129) were defined by alanine transaminase level > 60 U/L, liver ultrasound finding of steatosis, and absence of viral hepatitis A, B or C infection. All other study participants were defined as unaffected (n = 3419). Physical fitness was evaluated by performance in 3000-m run, 2-min sit-ups, and 2-min push-ups exercises, with all the procedures standardised by a computerized scoring system. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine the relationship.

Results

Chronic hepatitis B negatively correlated with 2-min push-up numbers (β = -2.49, P = 0.019) after adjusting for age, service specialty, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, current cigarette smoking, alcohol intake status, serum hemoglobin, and average weekly exercise times. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis was borderline positively correlated with 3000-m running time (β = 11.96, P = 0.084) and negatively correlated with 2-min sit-up numbers (β = -1.47, P = 0.040).

Conclusions

Chronic hepatitis B viral infection and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis affects different physical performances in young adult military males, and future studies should determine the underlying mechanism.

Reference

Chen, Y-J, Chen, K-W., Shih, Y-L, Su, F-Y., Lin, Y-P., Meng, F-C., Lin, F., Yu, Y-S., Han, C-L., Wang, C-H., Lin, J-W., Hsieh, T-Y., Li, Y-H. & Lin, G-M. (2017) Chronic Hepatitis B, Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis and Physical Fitness of Military Males: CHIEF Study. World Journal of Gastroenterology. 23(25), pp.4587–4594. Published online 2017 Jul 7. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i25.4587.