Seroprevalence of Hepatitis D Virus and its Risk Factors in the West of Iran

Abstract

Despite the decreasing trend in hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection worldwide, the importance of this disease cannot be underestimated. The aim of this study was to evaluate patients positive for HBsAg with respect to HDV infection and related factors. Patients with chronic hepatitis B who presented at Hamedan Province Hepatitis Community Center in 2002-2007 were included. A questionnaire covering demographic variables and history of hepatic disease was completed for each patient. Necessary tests were performed and antibodies to HDV were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Of 81 HBsAg positive patients, 14 (17.3%) contained anti-HDV IgG. Only one of the patients with anti-HDV IgM was positive for HBsAg. Of the anti-HDV IgG positive patients, two (14.3%) were women. Among the women examined in this study, 24 (35.8%) were anti-HDV IgG negative (p = 0.21), and of these, six (42.8%) were HBeAg positive while 17 (25.4%) of the anti-HDV IgG negative women were positive for HBeAg (p = 0.16). The prevalence of chronic hepatitis B among anti-HDV IgG positive and negative patients was 28.6% and 39.2% respectively (p = 0.31). Because of the relatively high rate of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and HDV co-infection in our study subjects, it is vital that healthcare providers and policy makers to recognize the risk factors associated with this HBV and HDV co-infection as well as the reasons for this increased anti-HDV serology in HBV carriers.

Clinical Features and Seroepidemiology of Anti-HDV Antibody in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Iran: A Meta-Analysis

“…Ninety-six articles were found in the literature review, 40 of which [4][10][11][12][13][15][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49] were potentially related to HDV prevalence in Iran. The detailed search process is demonstrated in Diagram 1.…”

“…After filtering the studies based on the inclusion criteria explained above, 19 studies were identified as assessing the prevalence of HDV infection in Iran. Out of these, four studies were conducted in Tehran [19][22][35][39], two studies in Shiraz and [10][45] Hamedan [21][23], and 1 each in the cities of Shahrekord [28], Mashhad [32], Khuzestan [33], Isfahan [24], Sari [11], Golestan [38], Babol [34], Bushehr [12], Kerman [50], and Tabriz [41]. Additionally, one study was carried out in both Tehran and Tabriz [44] Table 1.…”

“…There were 198 patients in the cirrhotic and HCC groups (4 articles: 4, 12, 33, 39), and the pooled estimation in this group was 30.47% (95% CI: 9.76 - 51.19). In chronic hepatitis group among 1,114 patients, the HDV prevalence in the random model was 14.4% (95% CI: 7.72 - 21.07; 7 articles: 19, 21, 33, 39, 45, 46, 50).In 4,372 inactive carrier patients, the HDV prevalence was 4.94 % (95% CI: 3.73 to 6.15; 15 articles: [10][11][19][21][22][23][24][28][33][34][35][38][39][41][44] Figure 1.…”

“…The HDV prevalence in articles [21][23][24][33][45][48], which had good quality scores was 7.15% (95% CI: 3.14 to 11.14). In papers with moderate quality scores, the HDV prevalence was 8.09% (95% CI: 6.02 to 10.15).…”

“…Ten articles [19][21][22][24][34][35][38][39][41][45] mentioned risk factors. Point estimations were calculated for factors such as history of blood transfusion, intravenous drug abuse, and hemodialysis and HBeAg positive serology.…”