Abstract: Abstract Objectives The aim of the present study was to determine the correlation between high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels and serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection. Methods 156 patients with chronic hepatitis B infection were enrolled in this study. Serum lipid profiles and HBV DNA levels were measured. All the patients were divided into three groups according to the HBV DNA levels: High-DNA levels group (>107copy/ml, n=76), Medium-DNA levels group (106~105copy/ml, n=42) and Low-DNA levels group (<105copy/ml, n=38). Results A significant negative correlation was found between increments in serum HBV DNA levels and HDL-C levels (P<0.01). HDL-C levels were inversely associated with HBV DNA levels (r=?0.336, P<0.01). Conclusions HDL-C levels in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection were inversely associated with disease severity of OA. These results demonstrated that HDL might affect the bioactivity and the ongoing replication of HBV, and HDL-C levels could be used as a biochemical marker for assessing the replication of HBV.

Key words: hepatitis B, hepatitis B virus, high density lipoprotein cholesterol