Haydarpaşa Numune Training and Research Hospital, Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology Department, Istanbul, Turkey.
J Viral Hepat. 2012 Jan;19(1):72-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2893.2011.01454.x. Epub 2011 Apr 7.
Hepatitis A is a widespread infectious disease. The prevalence of the disease is closely related to socioeconomic status (SES) and environmental factors. Understanding its prevalence is essential for instituting appropriate precautions. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of hepatitis A and evaluate the associated demographic features in children and young adults in Istanbul. In total, 630 individuals between the ages of 5-24 were included in the study. They were classified into four age groups (5-9, 10-14, 15-19 and 20-24 years). The seropositivity of hepatitis A in the whole study population was 40%. Age-specific prevalence was 11.4% in children 5-9 years old, 29% in those 10-14 years old, 49.7% in those 15-19 years old and 69% in those 20-25 years old. Seropositivity was associated with increasing age, low SES, large family size, low maternal educational level, use of unsafe drinking water and living in regions with poor infrastructure and incomplete urbanization. When we compared our results with previous seroprevalence studies performed in Istanbul, we found an epidemiological shift towards increasing age. Factors associated with changes in prevalence were urbanization and associated infrastructure improvement, knowledge of the disease by the population, use of good hygiene and use of vaccination in those at high risk.
甲型肝炎是一种广泛流行的传染病。该病的流行与社会经济地位（SES）和环境因素密切相关。了解其流行情况对于采取适当的预防措施至关重要。本研究旨在确定在伊斯坦布尔的儿童和青年中甲型肝炎的流行率，并评估相关的人口统计学特征。共有 630 名年龄在 5-24 岁之间的个体纳入本研究。他们被分为四个年龄组（5-9、10-14、15-19 和 20-24 岁）。整个研究人群中甲型肝炎的血清阳性率为 40%。特定年龄的患病率为 5-9 岁儿童为 11.4%，10-14 岁儿童为 29%，15-19 岁儿童为 49.7%，20-24 岁儿童为 69%。血清阳性与年龄增长、社会经济地位低、家庭规模大、母亲教育程度低、使用不安全饮用水以及生活在基础设施不完善和城市化程度不高的地区有关。当我们将结果与在伊斯坦布尔进行的先前血清流行率研究进行比较时，我们发现了一种向年龄增长方向的流行病学转变。与患病率变化相关的因素包括城市化和相关基础设施的改善、人群对疾病的认识、良好卫生习惯的使用以及高危人群的疫苗接种。
