15-year evaluation of changes in the HBsAg positivity rate in pregnant women in Turkey: the prominent effect of national vaccination Quinze ans d'évaluation de l'évolution du taux de positivité de l'AgHBs chez les femmes enceintes en Turquie: l'effet majeur de la vaccination nationale

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Tosun S., Erdoğan A., Torun A., Sever S., Altuntas S., Yildiz İ., ...More

Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, vol.28, no.10, pp.768-775, 2022 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 28 Issue: 10
  • Publication Date: 2022
  • Doi Number: 10.26719/emhj.22.071
  • Journal Name: Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, Child Development & Adolescent Studies, CINAHL, EMBASE, Index Islamicus, MEDLINE, Veterinary Science Database
  • Page Numbers: pp.768-775
  • Keywords: HBsAg positivity, pregnancy, vaccination, women Turkey
  • Uşak University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Background: The detection of hepatitis B surface antigen positivity in pregnant women before delivery is crucial to preventing mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus. Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the status and rate of testing for hepatitis B surface antigen, rate of hepatitis B surface antigen positivity, hepatitis B surface antigen positivity distribution rate by age, and changes in hepatitis B surface antigen positivity rate in pregnant women over the study period. Methods: We conducted a multicentre, cross-sectional, descriptive study covering the period January 2005 to June 2019 for 2 145 668 pregnant women from 27 provinces in all 7 regions of Turkey, collected using Microsoft Excel before statistical analysis. Results: We found that 1 012 593 (47.1%) pregnant women were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen over the 15-year period, out of which 11 471 (1.1%) were hepatitis B surface antigen-positive. Overall, 97% of the hepatitis B surface antigen positive women were born before 1998, the year that national HBV vaccination was launched in Turkey. The rate of hepatitis B surface antigen positivity in that group was 1.1%, compared with 0.3% among women born after 1998. Conclusion: There was a downward trend in the hepatitis B surface antigen positivity rate among pregnant women in the younger age groups, especially among those born after universal hepatitis B vaccination was inaugurated, and low rate of HBsAg testing during pregnancy.