Burden and Trends of Acute Viral Hepatitis in Asia from 1990 to 2019

Viruses. 2022 May 28;14(6):1180. doi: 10.3390/v14061180.

Abstract

Asia has a very high burden of acute hepatitis; thus, a comprehensive study of the current burden and long-term trends of acute hepatitis in Asia is needed. We aimed to assess the current status and trends from 1990 to 2019 of acute hepatitis burden in Asia, using the data from the Global Burden of Diseases Study 2019 (GBD 2019) results. Methods: We used the data from the GBD 2019. Absolute death, incidence, and disability adjusted life years (DALY) number and rate of acute hepatitis in Asia were derived from the database from 1990 to 2019. Age-standardized mortality, incidence and DALY rates (ASMR, ASIR and ASDR) were used to compare populations in different regions and times. The estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) in the rates quantified the trends of the acute hepatitis burden. Results: From 1990 to 2019, the ASMR and ASDR of acute hepatitis decreased significantly at different paces, with the largest decrease in acute hepatitis C and the smallest in acute hepatitis E. The ASIR of acute hepatitis decreased relatively slowly, by an average of 0.06% (95% CI, 0.05-0.08%) per year in acute hepatitis A, 0.91% (0.64-1.18%) per year in acute hepatitis C and 0.26% (0.24-0.28%) per year in acute hepatitis E; while the ASIR of acute hepatitis B decreased by an average of 1.95% (1.08-2.11) per year. From 1990 to 2019, the incidence rate of acute hepatitis A increased in most age groups (from the age of 5 to 70), with the 50-55 years group having the fastest increase by an average of 1.81% (95% CI, 1.67-1.95%) per year. In 2019, Afghanistan had the highest ASMR (10.44 per 100,000) and ASDR (357.85 per 100,000) of acute hepatitis, and the highest ASIR was in Mongolia (4703.14 per 100,000). Conclusions: In Asia, the burden of acute viral hepatitis was at a relatively high level, compared with the other four continents. International cooperation and multifaceted and multisectoral actions are needed for Asian countries to eliminate viral hepatitis and to contribute to the global elimination of viral hepatitis.

Keywords: Asia; acute viral hepatitis; burden; trends.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Asia / epidemiology
  • Global Health
  • Hepatitis A*
  • Hepatitis C* / epidemiology
  • Hepatitis E*
  • Humans
  • Incidence

Grants and funding

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 72122001; 71934002), the National Science and Technology Key Projects on Prevention and Treatment of Major infectious disease of China (grant number 2020ZX10001002), the National Key Research and Development Project of China (grant numbers 2021ZD0114101, 2021ZD0114104, and 2021ZD0114105), and the National Statistical Science Research Project (grant number 2021LY038). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the paper. No payment was received by any of the co-authors for the preparation of this article. The corresponding author had full access to all the data in the study and had final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication.