Prakasini Satapathy, Shilpa Gaidhane, Ashok Kumar Bishoyi, Subbulakshmi Ganesan, Kavita V, Swati Mishra, Manpreet Kaur, Ganesh Bushi, Muhammed Shabil, Rukshar Syed, Sonam Puri, Sunil Kumar, Sabah Ansar, Sanjit Sah, Diptismita Jena, Quazi Syed Zahiruddin, Khang Wen Goh
Background: Despite global progress, South Asian countries account for a disproportionate burden of Acute hepatitis E (AHE). Understanding the burden of AHE in this region is crucial for targeted interventions. Methods: We used Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 data to assess the burden of AHE across eight South Asian countries from 1990 to 2021. Joinpoint regression was used to analyze temporal trends and Estimated Annual Percentage Change (EAPC) was calculated to quantify trends. The relationship between age-standardized disability-adjusted life years rate (ASDR) and socio-demographic index (SDI) was assessed using smoothing spline model and Spearman rank correlation. Rates are expressed per 100,000 population. Results: Bangladesh had highest age-standardized prevalence rate (ASPR) [33.27 (95 % Uncertainty Interval: 27.64 to 39.95)] and age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) [433.01 (359.61 to 519.76)], while India had highest ASDR [9.52 (4.33 to 18.42)]. Males had higher ASIR and ASPR than females in most South Asian countries, except Bhutan and India, and higher ASDR except in Nepal and Pakistan. Bhutan had the highest EAPC for both sexes in ASPR and ASIR, while India had the highest EAPC in ASDR, closely followed by Bhutan for both sexes. Age group 5-9 had the highest ASPR and ASIR whereas <1-year age group had the highest ASDR. There was an inverse relationship between ASDR and SDI (R = -0.49, p < 0.01). Conclusion: South Asia bears a high burden of AHE, with variations across countries. Improvements in Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services are needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 6. © 2025
Centre of Research Impact and Outcome, Chitkara University, Punjab, Rajpura, 140417, India; Faculty of Data Science and Information Technology, INTI International University, Nilai, Malaysia; One Health Centre (COHERD), Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education, Wardha, India; Marwadi University Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Marwadi University, Gujarat, Rajkot, 360003, India; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, School of Sciences, JAIN (Deemed to be University), Karnataka, Bangalore, India; Department of Chemistry, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu, Chennai, India; Department of Pharmacology, IMS and SUM Hospital, Siksha 'O' Anusandhan (Deemed to be University), Odisha, Bhubaneswar, 751003, India; Department of Pharmacy, Chandigarh Pharmacy College, Chandigarh Group of Colleges-Jhanjeri, Punjab, Mohali, 140307, India; School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, India; University of Cyberjaya, Persiaran Bestari, Cyber 11, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Cyberjaya, 63000, Malaysia; University Center for Research and Development, Chandigarh University, Punjab, Mohali, India; Medical Laboratories Techniques Department, AL-Mustaqbal University, Babil, Hillah, 51001, Iraq; IES Institute of Pharmacy, IES University, Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal, 462044, India; New Delhi Institute of Management, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi, India; Department of Microbiology, Graphic Era (Deemed to be University), Clement Town, Dehradun, 248002, India; Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 10219, Riyadh, 11433, Saudi Arabia; Department of Paediatrics, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth (Deemed-to-be-University), Pimpri, Maharashtra, Pune, 411018, India; Department of Public Health Dentistry, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth (Deemed-to-be-University), Pimpri, Maharashtra, Pune, 411018, India; Department of Medicine, Korea Universtiy, Seoul, South Korea; Center for Global Health Research, Saveetha Medical College and Hospital, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, India; South Asia Infant Feeding Research Network (SAIFRN), Division of Evidence Synthesis, Global Consortium of Public Health and Research, Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education, Wardha, India; Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang, Indonesia
