The global trends and regional differences in incidence of HEV infection from 1990 to 2017 and implications for HEV prevention

Abstract Background/Aims Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is an important cause of acute viral hepatitis worldwide, but it is long‐neglected. We aimed to understand the global trends and regional differences in the incidence of HEV infection, thereby making global tailored prevention strategies. Methods This study is a post‐hoc analysis of the data from Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Annual HEV incident cases and incidence rates from 1990 to 2017 were collected. Changes in incident cases and estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs) of age‐standardized incidence rates (ASRs) were calculated to quantify the temporal trends of HEV infection. Results Globally, HEV ASRs decreased by an average 0.16% (95% CI: 0.14%‐0.17%) per year from 279.79 per 100 000 in 1990 to 269.70 per 100 000 in 2017; however, the number of HEV incident cases increased by 17.63% from 16.53 million in 1990 to 19.44 million in 2017. Against the global trend of ASR falling, an increasing trend was reported in Oceania (EAPC = 0.03; 95% CI: 0.03‐0.04) and Western Europe (EAPC = 0.02; 95% CI: 0.01‐0.03). The number of HEV incident cases increased remarkably in low (63.07%) and low‐middle (37.46%) Socio‐Demographic Index (SDI) regions between 1990 and 2017. Additionally, the number of HEV incident cases increased by 4.63% in high SDI regions, mainly in 40 plus age group. Surprisingly, more than 40% of HEV incident cases in Western Europe in 2017 were over 40 years old. Conclusions HEV is still pending in hyperendemic regions, and it is emerging in low endemic regions, suggesting more efforts should be done to make targeted prevention strategies.