Gnyawali B, Pusateri A, Nickerson A, Jalil S, Mumtaz K. Epidemiologic and socioeconomic factors impacting hepatitis B virus and related hepatocellular carcinoma. World J Gastroenterol 2022; 28(29): 3793-3802 [PMID: 36157533 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v28.i29.3793]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Khalid Mumtaz, MBBS, MSc, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, The Ohio State University, 395 W. 12th Avenue, 262 Suite, Columbus, OH 43210, United States. khalid.mumtaz@osumc.edu
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Bipul Gnyawali, Department of Medicine, Kettering Medical Center, Dayton, OH 45342, United States
Antoinette Pusateri, Ashley Nickerson, Sajid Jalil, Khalid Mumtaz, Department of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
Author contributions: Gnyawali B and Mumtaz K contributed to the conception of the review; Gnyawali B and Pusateri A performed a review of the current literature; Gnyawali B drafted the manuscript; Pusateri A, Nickerson A, Mumtaz K, and Jalil S added key information and revised the manuscript; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There are no conflicts of interest to report.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Khalid Mumtaz, MBBS, MSc, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, The Ohio State University, 395 W. 12th Avenue, 262 Suite, Columbus, OH 43210, United States. khalid.mumtaz@osumc.edu
Received: January 18, 2022 Peer-review started: January 18, 2022 First decision: March 8, 2022 Revised: April 10, 2022 Accepted: July 11, 2022 Article in press: July 11, 2022 Published online: August 7, 2022
Abstract
Chronic Hepatitis B is a highly prevalent disease worldwide and is estimated to cause more than 800000 annual deaths from complications such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Although universal hepatitis B vaccination programs may have reduced the incidence and prevalence of chronic hepatitis B and related HCC, the disease still imposes a significant healthcare burden in many endemic regions such as Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. This is especially concerning given the global underdiagnosis of hepatitis B and the limited availability of vaccination, screening, and treatment in low-resource regions. Demographics including male gender, older age, ethnicity, and geographic location as well as low socioeconomic status are more heavily impacted by chronic hepatitis B and related HCC. Methods to mitigate this impact include increasing screening in high-risk groups according to national guidelines, increasing awareness and health literacy in vulnerable populations, and developing more robust vaccination programs in under-served regions.
Core Tip: While many studies in the past have analyzed the impact of various epidemiological and socioeconomic factors on viral hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), this minireview is the first to adopt a global perspective in highlighting the impact of both epidemiologic and socioeconomic factors on current trends in chronic hepatitis B and related HCC. We highlight trends in incidence, prevalence and mortality of chronic hepatitis B seen throughout the world in the past few decades and the disparity in healthcare distribution and outcomes between different populations.
