The Impact Of Hepatitis B Infection On The Development Of Anti-Cardiolipin Antibodies In Najaf Province

Background: Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) is a partly double-stranded, hepatotropic, non-cytotoxic Hepadnaviridae virus. HBV is linked to many autoimmune diseases, including Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA), Cryoglobulinemia, and Antiphospholipid Syndrome(APS). Anticardiolipin antibodies (ACL) are a type of anti-phospholipid antibodies(APA) that target cardiolipin molecules. They're more common in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and APS. APA may be caused by viral infections such as HBV. Aim of the study: Determination of Anticardiolipin antibody positivity among hepatitis B virus-infected patients in Najaf governorate. material, and methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted between September 2022 to March 2023 in Najaf, a non-random sampling was depended, the sera of 113 HBV-infected patients were collected from the main health facilities in Najaf, and all had no other possible disease that is associated with APA, then it was tested for HBS antigen, total HBc antibodies, IgM HBc antibodies, ACL antibodies by ELISA technique. SPSS version 26 was used to perform the statistical analysis processes. Results: anti-cardiolipin antibodies(ACL) prevalence was 10.6%, The type of HBV infection and ACL production were significantly correlated (p<0.05), males had a higher percentage of ACL autoantibodies and middle age patients presented with the highest rate of ACL antibodies, however, there was no statistically significant relationship between ACL and age or gender.  In Conclusion: hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the main viruses that lead to the production of ACL especially in middle-aged people males, the chronic type is more prevalent for ACL than the acute type.