SynthesisBMC infectious diseases2018
Hepatitis B/C in the countries of the EU/EEA: a systematic review of the prevalence among at-risk groups.
Synthesis in BMC infectious diseases, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 57 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
57 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Estimates of hepatitis B virus prevalence among general population and key risk groups in EU/EEA/UK countries: a systematic review.Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2023Pooled it
- Healthcare-associated hepatitis B and C transmission to patients in the EU/EEA and UK: a systematic review of reported outbreaks between 2006 and 2021.BMC public health · 2022Pooled it
- Prevalence and Management of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Correctional Settings: A Systematic Review.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2022Pooled it
- Hepatitis B vaccination coverage in Germany: systematic review.BMC infectious diseases · 2021Pooled it
- Hepatitis B virus infection among people who use drugs in Iran: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and trend analysis.Harm reduction journal · 2020Pooled it
- Hepatitis B and C among healthcare workers and patient groups at increased risk of iatrogenic transmission in the European Union/European Economic Area.The Journal of hospital infection · 2019Pooled it
- Prevalence of hepatitis C infection among the general population and high-risk groups in the EU/EEA: a systematic review update.BMC infectious diseases · 2019Pooled it
- National trends in acute viral hepatitis in China from 1990-2023: An analysis of the Global Burden of Disease 2023 update.Chinese medical journal · 2026Article
- Non-hospital occupational blood exposure accidents: A nine-year retrospective analysis of post-exposure HIV, hepatitis B and C risk management in the Netherlands.Epidemiology and infection · 2026Article
- Design and results of a pilot community screening strategy for hepatitis B and hepatitis C to promote early access to treatment among migrant populations from high-prevalence countries residing in Catalonia (MiCatC).Journal of migration and health · 2026Article
- Estimating the potential health economic value of introducing universal opt-out testing for HIV in emergency departments in Italy.European journal of public health · 2025Article
- Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Patients With Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B Co-Infection, Georgia, 2017-2023.Journal of viral hepatitis · 2025Article
- Can Support for Homosexuality Reduce the Prevalence of Mental Health Problems among LGBTQIranian journal of psychiatry · 2025Review
- Article
- Feasibility of data extraction and evaluation with BeoNet-Halle: outcomes and data quality in hepatitis B and C screenings.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Review of the Effects of Antiviral Therapy on Hepatitis B/C-Related Mortality and the Regression of Fibrosis.Viruses · 2024Review
- Effectiveness of a Counseling Intervention to Increase Vaccination Uptake among Men Who Have Sex with Men during the Mpox Outbreak.Vaccines · 2024Article
- Incidence and prevalence of hepatitis C and B infections among men who have sex with men and transgender women enrolled in a United States HIV vaccine trial.Research square · 2024Article
- Prevalence of hepatitis B and C infections among HIV-positive men who have sex with men: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Health science reports · 2024Article
- Seroepidemiological Investigation of Hepatitis B and C Prevalence and Associated Factors Among People in Custody at Zahedan Central Prison.Archives of Iranian medicine · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn 2016, the World Health Organisation set a goal to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030. Robust epidemiological information underpins all efforts to achieve elimination and this systematic review provides estimates of HBsAg and anti-HCV prevalence in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) among three at-risk populations: people in prison, men who have sex with men (MSM), and people who inject drugs (PWID).
methodsEstimates of the prevalence among the three risk groups included in our study were derived from multiple sources. A systematic search of literature published during 2005-2015 was conducted without linguistic restrictions to identify studies among people in prison and HIV negative/HIV sero-status unknown MSM. National surveillance focal points were contacted to validate the search results. Studies were assessed for risk of bias and high quality estimates were pooled at country level. PWID data were extracted from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) repository.
resultsDespite gaps, we report 68 single study/pooled HBsAg/anti-HCV prevalence estimates covering 23/31 EU/EEA countries, 42 of which were of intermediate/high prevalence using the WHO endemicity threshold (of ≥2%). This includes 20 of the 23 estimates among PWID, 20 of the 28 high quality estimates among people in prison, and four of the 17 estimates among MSM. In general terms, the highest HBsAg prevalence was found among people in prison (range of 0.3% - 25.2%) followed by PWID (0.5% - 6.1%) and MSM (0.0% - 1.4%). The highest prevalence of anti-HCV was also found among people in prison (4.3% - 86.3%) and PWID (13.8% - 84.3%) followed by MSM (0.0% - 4.7%).
conclusionsOur results suggest prioritisation of PWID and the prison population as the key populations for HBV/HCV screening and treatment given their dynamic interaction and high prevalence. The findings of this study do not seem to strongly support the continued classification of MSM as a high risk group for chronic hepatitis B infection. However, we still consider MSM a key population for targeted action given the emerging evidence of viral hepatitis transmission within this risk group together with the complex interaction of HBV/HCV and HIV.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.