Serological Assessment of Hepatitis in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Taiwan: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), comprising ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), is a chronic, immune-mediated inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract. Immunosuppressive therapy administration increases the risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) reactiv...

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Main Authors: Yueh-An Lee, Hsu-Heng Yen, Yang-Yuan Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Life
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/15/6/893
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author Yueh-An Lee
Hsu-Heng Yen
Yang-Yuan Chen
author_facet Yueh-An Lee
Hsu-Heng Yen
Yang-Yuan Chen
author_sort Yueh-An Lee
collection DOAJ
description Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), comprising ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), is a chronic, immune-mediated inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract. Immunosuppressive therapy administration increases the risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) reactivation. This study aimed to investigate the hepatitis screening rate, serological status, and protective antibody levels among the Taiwanese IBD population. This single-center retrospective study included patients with IBD from January 2016 to December 2024. Hepatitis serological markers were analyzed. Patients were categorized into active HBV infection (HBsAg-positive), resolved HBV infection (HBsAg-negative and anti-HBc-positive), and non-HBV-infected groups, with prevalences of 7.5%, 32.5%, and 0.9%, respectively. This study included 347 patients with IBD (UC: 68.3%; CD: 31.7%), with a mean age of 47.1 ± 16.4 years. Patients born after 1984 demonstrated a significantly reduced HBsAg positivity (0.9% vs. 11.0%; <i>p</i> < 0.05) and resolved HBV infection (52.2% vs. 1.0%; <i>p</i> < 0.05). However, among non-HBV-infected individuals, only 42.0% had protective anti-HBs levels (≥10 mIU/mL), despite vaccination program initiation. In this study, we found an overall HBsAg positivity rate of 7.5% and an anti-HCV seropositivity rate of 0.9% in our IBD population. Taiwan’s HBV vaccination program has effectively reduced the HBV prevalence. However, a significant proportion of vaccinated individuals lack sufficient protective antibody levels, thereby requiring continued HBV screening and booster vaccinations.
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spelling doaj-art-db9dbdfaabe14688bc81d630036a0a852025-08-20T02:21:07ZengMDPI AGLife2075-17292025-05-0115689310.3390/life15060893Serological Assessment of Hepatitis in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Taiwan: A Retrospective Cohort AnalysisYueh-An Lee0Hsu-Heng Yen1Yang-Yuan Chen2Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua 500, TaiwanDivision of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua 500, TaiwanDivision of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua 500, TaiwanInflammatory bowel disease (IBD), comprising ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), is a chronic, immune-mediated inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract. Immunosuppressive therapy administration increases the risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) reactivation. This study aimed to investigate the hepatitis screening rate, serological status, and protective antibody levels among the Taiwanese IBD population. This single-center retrospective study included patients with IBD from January 2016 to December 2024. Hepatitis serological markers were analyzed. Patients were categorized into active HBV infection (HBsAg-positive), resolved HBV infection (HBsAg-negative and anti-HBc-positive), and non-HBV-infected groups, with prevalences of 7.5%, 32.5%, and 0.9%, respectively. This study included 347 patients with IBD (UC: 68.3%; CD: 31.7%), with a mean age of 47.1 ± 16.4 years. Patients born after 1984 demonstrated a significantly reduced HBsAg positivity (0.9% vs. 11.0%; <i>p</i> < 0.05) and resolved HBV infection (52.2% vs. 1.0%; <i>p</i> < 0.05). However, among non-HBV-infected individuals, only 42.0% had protective anti-HBs levels (≥10 mIU/mL), despite vaccination program initiation. In this study, we found an overall HBsAg positivity rate of 7.5% and an anti-HCV seropositivity rate of 0.9% in our IBD population. Taiwan’s HBV vaccination program has effectively reduced the HBV prevalence. However, a significant proportion of vaccinated individuals lack sufficient protective antibody levels, thereby requiring continued HBV screening and booster vaccinations.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/15/6/893hepatitisinflammatory bowel diseasevaccination
spellingShingle Yueh-An Lee
Hsu-Heng Yen
Yang-Yuan Chen
Serological Assessment of Hepatitis in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Taiwan: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis
Life
hepatitis
inflammatory bowel disease
vaccination
title Serological Assessment of Hepatitis in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Taiwan: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis
title_full Serological Assessment of Hepatitis in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Taiwan: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis
title_fullStr Serological Assessment of Hepatitis in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Taiwan: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis
title_full_unstemmed Serological Assessment of Hepatitis in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Taiwan: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis
title_short Serological Assessment of Hepatitis in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Taiwan: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis
title_sort serological assessment of hepatitis in patients with inflammatory bowel disease in taiwan a retrospective cohort analysis
topic hepatitis
inflammatory bowel disease
vaccination
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/15/6/893
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AT yangyuanchen serologicalassessmentofhepatitisinpatientswithinflammatoryboweldiseaseintaiwanaretrospectivecohortanalysis