Hepatitis a seroprevalence in children and young adults in Istanbul, Turkey: seroprevalence change and associated factors

. 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 524 were included in the study. They were classified into four age groups (59, 1014, 1519 and 2024 years). The seropositivity of hepatitis A in the whole study population was 40%. Age-specific prevalence was 11.4% in children 59 years old, 29% in those 1014 years old, 49.7% in those 1519 years old and 69% in those 2025 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.