Abstract：
Hepatitis B virus is a global health concern with a high death rate in Afghanistan. Limited data exist on the disease\'s impact on quality of life in low-resource settings. This case-control study aims to identify potential risk factors and assess the quality of life among hepatitis B patients in Herat, Afghanistan, with a focus on sex differences. Understanding these factors can inform prevention, care, and sex-specific interventions. A cross-sectional study conducted at Herat Regional Hospital examined hepatitis B patients above 18 years old, between October 2020 and February 2021. The control group consisted of age and sex-matched individuals without a history of hepatitis B. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire covering socio-demographic characteristics, signs and symptoms of hepatitis B, and the SF-36 questionnaire for measuring the quality of life of study participants. Statistical analysis was performed using multivariate General Linear Models, and logistic regression. We identified several potential risk factors for hepatitis B infection, including male sex, younger age groups, tobacco use, lower education levels, rural residence, family history, weak social networks, specific family structures and underlying chronic diseases (p < .05). The study found that hepatitis B cases had significantly lower mean scores across all SF-36 components, indicating an overall reduced quality of life (p < .05). These differences were more pronounced in males, although females had lower scores in most components. Role limitations due to physical and emotional health were particularly affected. These findings highlight the urgent need for targeted interventions, sex-specific strategies, improved healthcare access and comprehensive policies. These findings can inform prevention efforts to improve the overall quality of life of people with hepatitis B in Afghanistan.
摘要：
乙型肝炎病毒是全球健康问题，在阿富汗死亡率很高。在低资源环境中，关于该疾病对生活质量的影响的数据有限。这项病例对照研究旨在确定潜在的危险因素并评估赫拉特乙型肝炎患者的生活质量。阿富汗,关注性别差异。了解这些因素可以为预防提供信息，care,和针对性别的干预措施。在赫拉特地区医院进行的一项横断面研究检查了18岁以上的乙型肝炎患者，2020年10月至2021年2月。对照组由年龄和性别匹配的个体组成，没有乙型肝炎病史。乙型肝炎的体征和症状，和测量研究参与者生活质量的SF-36问卷。使用多变量一般线性模型进行统计分析，和逻辑回归。我们确定了乙型肝炎感染的几个潜在危险因素，包括男性,年轻的年龄组，烟草使用,教育水平较低,农村住宅,家族史,薄弱的社交网络，特定的家庭结构和潜在的慢性病（p<0.05）。研究发现，乙型肝炎病例在所有SF-36成分中的平均得分明显较低，表明生活质量总体下降（p<0.05）。这些差异在男性中更为明显，尽管女性在大多数组件中得分较低。由于身体和情绪健康而导致的角色限制尤其受到影响。这些发现强调了迫切需要有针对性的干预措施，针对性别的策略，改善医疗保健和全面政策。这些发现可以为预防工作提供信息，以改善阿富汗乙型肝炎患者的整体生活质量。
