Hepatitis B virus DNA polymerase activity and hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)/anti-HBe status among type B chronic liver diseases.

To investigate the relationship between hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication and chronic liver disease, age-specific prevalences of HBeAg, anti-HBe, and HBV DNA polymerase (DNAP) activity were studied in 295 asymptomatic HBV carriers and 183 patients with B-type chronic liver diseases. DNAP activity decreased with age, and there was no difference in the overall prevalence of DNAP activity between the asymptomatic carriers (27.8%) and the chronic liver disease patients (27.3%). The prevalence of DNAP activity in the 40-and-over age group was significantly higher for the chronic liver disease patients (17.5%) than for the asymptomatic carriers (1.7%). The prevalence of HBeAg in the 40-and-over age group was also significantly higher for the chronic liver disease patients (33.8%) than for the asymptomatic carriers (2.6%). These data suggest that viral replication decreased with age and that viral replication occurring in older persons closely related to chronic liver disease.