Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2020 Jun 11:2020:9418475.
doi: 10.1155/2020/9418475. eCollection 2020.

Hepatitis B Virus Infection and Its Determinants among Pregnant Women in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Addisu Alehegn Alemu  1 , Liknaw Bewket Zeleke  1 , Bewket Yesarah Aynalem  1 , Getachew Mullu Kassa  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Hepatitis B Virus Infection and Its Determinants among Pregnant Women in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Addisu Alehegn Alemu et al. Infect Dis Obstet Gynecol. .

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is an infectious and a global public health problem. The prevalence of HBV infection among pregnant women is between 2.3% and 7.9%. HBV infection during pregnancy is associated with prenatal transmission to the fetus. HBV has an effective vaccine which reduces up to 96% of the transmission. Although different studies were conducted in Ethiopia, none of them showed the national prevalence of HBV infection among pregnant women. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the pooled prevalence of HBV and its associated factors in Ethiopia.

Methods: We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for articles. All observational published studies were retrieved using relevant search terms in Google Scholar, African Online Journal, CINAHL, and PubMed databases. Newcastle-Ottawa assessment checklist for observational studies was used for critical appraisal of the included articles. The meta-analysis was done with STATA version 14 software. The I 2 statistics were used to test heterogeneity whereas Begg's and Egger's tests were used to assess publication bias. Odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was presented using the forest plot.

Results: A total of twenty-three studies were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of HBV in Ethiopia was 4.75% (95% CI: 4.06, 5.44). The subgroup analysis showed a higher prevalence of HBV infection among pregnant women in Gambella (7.9%) and the lowest in Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR) (2.3%). Associated factors with HBV infection include history of multiple sexual partner (OR = 6.02 (95%CI = 3.86, 9.36)), blood transfusion history (OR = 5.71 (95%CI = 3.25, 10.04)), abortion history (OR = 3.58 (95%CI = 2.10, 6.09)), and history of body tattoo (OR = 2.83 (95%CI = 1.55, 5.17)).

Conclusions: HBV infection among pregnant women is a common public health problem in Ethiopia. Multiple sexual partners, abortion history, blood transfusion history, and body tattoo were significantly associated with HBV infection. Policies and strategies should focus on factors identified in this study to improve the prevention of HBV among pregnant women.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

We declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA diagram identifying studies utilized for systematic and meta-analysis of HBV infection among pregnant women in Ethiopia.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The pooled prevalence of HBV infection among pregnant women in Ethiopia.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest plot on the effect of having multiple sexual partners on HBV infection.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest plot on the effect of history of blood transfusion on HBV infection.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Forest plot on the effect of history of abortion on HBV infection.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Forest plot on the effect of body tattooing on HBV infection.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Blachier M., Leleu H., Peck-Radosavljevic M., Valla D.-C., Roudot-Thoraval F. The burden of liver disease in Europe: a review of available epidemiological data. Journal of Hepatology. 2013;58(3):593–608. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2012.12.005. - DOI - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization. Guidelines on hepatitis B and C testing. Who; 2017. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/254621/9789241549981-en....
    1. Ofori-Asenso R., Agyeman A. A. Hepatitis B in Ghana: a systematic review & meta-analysis of prevalence studies (1995-2015) BMC Infectious Diseases. 2016;16(1) doi: 10.1186/s12879-016-1467-5. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gebreegziabher D., Asfeha G. G., Gebreyesus H. A. Seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) among clients visiting “Tefera Hailu” memorial hospital, Sekota, Northern Ethiopia. BMC Infectious Diseases. 2016;16(1):1–6. doi: 10.1186/s12879-016-1744-3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Crusio W. E., Lambris J. D., Rezaei N. (Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology).Hepatitis B Virus Infection Molecular Virology to Antiviral Drugs. 1179