Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41455870›Full record

SynthesisJournal of epidemiology and global health2025

The Prevalence and Risk Factors of Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and Hepatitis D Coinfection in Iran's General Population Over the Past 25 Years: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Malihe Naderi, Kosar Kordkatuli, Grace Naswa Makokha, Abdolvahab Moradi, Fatemeh Mehravar, Makoto Hijikata, Kazuaki Chayama

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of epidemiology and global health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Observational
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

7 authors.

Malihe NaderiDepartment of Tropical Viral Vaccine Development, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
Kosar KordkatuliStudent Research Committee, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran.
Grace Naswa MakokhaHiroshima Institute of Life Sciences, 7-21 Nishi Asahi-machi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima, 734-0002, Japan.
Abdolvahab MoradiDepartment of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran. abmoradi@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2877-4190
Fatemeh MehravarInfectious Diseases Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Golestan, Iran. Mehravar10261@goums.ac.ir.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4732-8519
Makoto HijikataHiroshima Institute of Life Sciences, 7-21 Nishi Asahi-machi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima, 734-0002, Japan.
Kazuaki ChayamaHiroshima Institute of Life Sciences, 7-21 Nishi Asahi-machi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima, 734-0002, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Concurrent HBV, HCV, and HDV infections pose a global health challenge, worsening disease, treatment, and patient outcomes, and burdening healthcare. In Iran, no comprehensive review has assessed HBV/HCV and HBV/HDV coinfection rates. This study conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis per PRISMA 2020 guidelines. The study was prospectively registered in PROSPERO (CRD420251007210). A comprehensive search was conducted across international (PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library) and Iranian databases (SID, Magiran), supplemented by Google Scholar, for studies published between January 2000 and March 2025. Eligible studies reported laboratory-confirmed cases of HBV, HCV, and/or HDV coinfections using ELISA, PCR, or real-time PCR. Because HDV replication depends on hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), biologically independent HCV/HDV coinfection cannot occur. Consequently, studies that reported HCV/HDV coinfection without HBV were excluded. Two researchers independently conducted screening and data extraction and assessed study quality using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). To account for variability across studies, a random-effects model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence and its 95% confidence interval. Our analysis included 99 studies, encompassing more than 182,000 participants from regions of Iran. The pooled prevalence rates were 3% for HBV/HCV coinfection, 7% for HBV/HDV coinfection, and 1% for triple HBV/HCV/HDV infection. Due to significant heterogeneity across studies, random-effects models were used to obtain combined estimates. Substantial heterogeneity (I² up to 98%) was observed, attributable to variations in study populations, geographic regions, and diagnostic methods, as confirmed by sensitivity analyses and meta-regression. Publication bias was evident in most analyses. Key risk factors included blood transfusions, injection drug use, incarceration, and chronic liver disease. These findings underscore the urgent need for tailored prevention and surveillance programs. The high prevalence of coinfections in Iran, coupled with marked regional and population-based disparities, calls for standardized diagnostic protocols and targeted interventions that address behavioral and healthcare-associated risk factors.

Indexed as

CoinfectionHepatitis BHepatitis CHepatitis DHumansIranPrevalenceRisk FactorsCoinfectionEpidemiologyHepatitisIranMeta-analysisViral infection

Identifiers

PMID41455870
PMCPMC12779871

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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 Socratic graph.