Acute viral hepatitis burden heaviest in low-income countries

Socioeconomic development is inversely correlated with acute viral hepatitis (AVH), such that the disease burden is highest among low-income countries, a recent study has found.

The Global Burden of Disease 2019 study was accessed for data on four major AVH types (acute hepatitis A, B, C, and E), including the corresponding age-standardized incidence and disability-adjusted life year (DALY) rates. Analyses were stratified by sex, country, and sociodemographic index (SDI).

From 1990 to 2019, age-standardized rates of AVH remained largely stable, except for acute hepatitis B, which decreased over time. In terms of age-standardized DALY, all four AVH types showed a downward trend per year, especially acute hepatitis A, which had seen a DALY drop of 73.3 percent.

Overall, the age-standardized incidence and DALY rates for the four AVH types in 2019 were 3,615.9 and 58.0 per 100,000 person-years, respectively. Acute hepatitis A had the heaviest disease burden.

In terms of geographical location, all four major AVH types were most prevalent in West and East Africa and had low burden in North America and most European regions. Further stratifying by SDI showed that a country’s socioeconomic status was a strong correlate of AVH, such that those with high or high-middle SDI had the lowest incidence and DALY rates of AVH. In contrast, counterparts with low or low-middle SDI had higher disease burden.

“An enormous health loss is attributable to viral hepatitis, and many barriers such as inadequate sanitary infrastructure and limited vaccination coverage exist in low-income countries. Therefore, minimizing the burden of AVH is considered an important component for a new global health strategy,” the researchers said.

“Further, a better understanding of the burden of disease is necessary to guide these efforts and to improve public health,” they added.