Meta-Analysis of the Prevalence of HBV Infection Among Alcohol Users Worldwide

To investigate the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among alcohol users.

A systematic search of articles in the PubMed, Web of Science and EMBASE databases was conducted. The methodological quality of each study was scored, and a meta-analysis was performed taking into account the heterogeneity expected among the studies. Publication bias was assessed using Begg's and Egger's tests.

The search identified 998 reports that yielded 18 eligible studies. The studies comprised 12,204 alcohol users, who were mostly men. The mean score on the quality evaluation was 6.9, and 11 studies were classified as having a low risk of bias. The estimated worldwide prevalence of HBV was 20.0% (95%CI: 19.0-20.0). The heterogeneity among the studies was substantial (I2 = 96.7%). In subgroup analyses, it was observed that among alcohol user dependents with no description of liver damage, alcohol users with different stages of chronic liver disease and alcohol users who all had cirrhosis, the estimated prevalence was 10.0% (95%CI: 8.0-14.0), 14.0% (95%CI: 13.0-15.0) and 32.0% (95%CI: 29.0-35.0), respectively. The meta-regression analysis showed that the study quality score had an influence on the investigated prevalence (P = 0.005). Nevertheless, the funnel plot showed asymmetry, and there was evidence of publication bias according to Egger's test (P = 0.003) but not Begg's test (P = 0.869).

The prevalence of HBV among alcohol users was high. HBV infection and alcohol consumption are factors affecting the development and worsening of liver disease; therefore, we suggest that adult alcohol users should be carefully monitored.