Incidence trends of acute viral hepatitis caused by four viral etiologies between 1990 and 2019 at the global, regional and national levels

Abstract Background Hepatitis is a major public health challenge and a leading cause of death worldwide. We aimed to study the cause‐specific incidence and temporal trends of acute viral hepatitis (AVH). Methods Data on AVH etiologies were available from the Global Burden of Disease study 2019. Estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) was used to quantify temporal trend in AVH age‐standardized incidence rates (ASIRs) by region, sex and aetiology. Results From 1990 to 2019, the global incidence of AVH increased by 8.02%, from 244 350 063 in 1990 to 263 951 645 in 2019, with an average decreasing ASIR of 0.52% (95% CI −0.58% to −0.45%) annually. The ASIR of AVH due to hepatitis B virus (HBV) decreased, while those of hepatitis A (HAV), hepatitis C (HCV) and hepatitis E (HEV) remained stable, with EAPCs (95% CI) of −1.47 (−1.58 to −1.36), 0 (−0.09 to 0.09), −0.35 (−0.83 to −0.13), and −0.16 (−0.41 to 0.09) respectively. Although the number of new AVH cases increased in the low sociodemographic index (SDI), low‐middle SDI regions, the ASIRs decreased in all five SDI regions. Globally, HAV and HBV are the leading causes of acute hepatitis. The EAPC is significantly associated with a baseline ASIR of less than 5500 per 100 000 population (ρ = −0.44), and with the 2019 human development index (HDI) (ρ = 0.16) for AVH. Conclusions Although the ASIR of AVH showed a generally decreasing trend, the burden of AVH remains a major public health challenge globally. The findings may be helpful for policymakers in establishing appropriate policies to reduce the viral hepatitis burden.