Seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus infection among institutionalized psychiatric patients in Taiwan

Hepatitis E virus infection (HEV) remains unclear in institutionalized psychiatric patients.

To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of HEV infection in a psychiatric institution in Taiwan.

A total of 754 patients with psychiatric disorders were enrolled in the study. Clinical features, review of patient charts, and interviews with families were recorded for analysis. Antibody to HEV was tested using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.

The prevalence of HEV infection in institutionalized patients was as high as 14.5%. Males had higher prevalence than females. It was also found prevalence increased significantly by age group. When compared with patients 30 years old or less, those in the 31-40 year old age group had an odds ratio of 4.89 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.15-20.82], 41-50 years old of 6.30 (95% CI, 1.48-26.83), and 50 years or older of 6.20 (95% CI, 1.44-26.74). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, age and male gender were the independent risk factors.

Institutionalized psychiatric patients had higher prevalence of HEV infection. In addition, there was an age-related increase in exposure to HEV with males that had a higher HEV seropositivity.