Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40970306›Full record

ArticleEuro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin2025

Tracking epidemiological shifts in hepatitis A in Portugal: a comparison of seroprevalence between two nationwide surveys, 2001 to 2002 and 2015 to 2016.

Vera Manageiro, Rita Matos, Paula Palminha, Helena Cortes-Martins, Baltazar Nunes, Rita de Sousa

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Vera ManageiroDepartment of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Lisbon, Portugal.
Rita MatosDepartment of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Lisbon, Portugal.
Paula PalminhaDepartment of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Lisbon, Portugal.
Helena Cortes-MartinsDepartment of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Lisbon, Portugal.
Baltazar NunesComprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), Centre for Public Health Research (CISP), National School of Public Health, NOVA University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.
Rita de SousaDepartment of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Lisbon, Portugal.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHepatitis A incidence in Portugal declined from 20.1 to 0.4/100,000 population between 1987 and 2023, changing non-vaccinated population susceptibility. This shift has contributed to more frequent outbreaks, including in 2024-25, highlighting the need to enhance surveillance and integrate serological data.

aimWe aimed to describe the exposure profile of the Portuguese population to hepatitis A virus (HAV) over time by estimating and comparing the seroprevalence of hepatitis A in two nationwide surveys.

methodsData from two cross-sectional seroprevalence studies performed in 2001-02 and 2015-16 in the population aged ≥ 2 years were analysed. Seroprevalence was weighted for population distribution by age, sex and region, and then analysed by birth cohort (1911 -2014) and compared using Poisson regression.

resultsOverall prevalence of anti-HAV IgG antibodies was 67.3% (95% CI: 64.2-70.3) in 2001-02 (n = 1,642) and 56.3% (95% CI: 52.4-60.2) in 2015-16 (n = 2,052), showing an 11-percentage-point decline. Birth cohort analysis revealed consistent seroprevalence within each cohort in both surveys, i.e. seroprevalence for the 1981-90 birth cohort was 16.7% and 18.7%, respectively, suggesting that higher seroprevalence is more closely associated with birth cohort (cohort effect) rather than a specific time point. Additionally, we found that individuals aged ≥ 30 years, born before the 1980s, and those with lower education had higher seroprevalence.

conclusionsThe immunological profile of anti-HAV antibodies in the Portuguese population has shifted over the last decades. High susceptibility and shifting age distribution of Hepatitis A-seropositive individuals highlight the need to revise future vaccination strategies in Portugal.

Indexed as

Hepatitis AHepatitis A AntibodiesHepatitis A virusAdolescentAdultAgedAge DistributionChildChild, PreschoolCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansImmunoglobulin GIncidenceMaleMiddle AgedHepatitis A AntibodiesImmunoglobulin Gantibodiescohort effectHepatitis APortugalseroprevalence

Identifiers

PMID40970306
PMCPMC12449678

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.