High hepatitis B vaccination coverage among a cohort of predominantly men who have sex with men in Germany.

Incidence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has declined dramatically since the introduction of the HBV vaccine, but gaps remain in coverage. We characterized factors associated with vaccination among individuals with sexual risk of HBV infection. The BRAHMS observational cohort enrolled men and transgender women, without HIV, aged 18-55 years, with behavioral vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections at 10 German outpatient clinics. HBV surface antigen, surface antibody, and core antibody were assessed at screening for cohort eligibility to determine HBV vaccination status. Modified Poisson regression with robust standard errors was used to calculate adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for factors potentially associated with prior HBV vaccination. A total of 1,042 participants were included in these cross-sectional analyses, with 831 participants (79.7%) immune to HBV due to vaccination. Knowledge around HBV vaccination recommendations (aPR: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.78-0.98). and age (aPR 40-49 vs 18-29 years: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.79-0.97) were significantly associated with a history of HBV vaccination in both the unadjusted and adjusted models. Education about the availability of vaccines and recommendations for vaccinations may improve coverage.