Descriptive spatiotemporal analysis of reported incidence of hepatitis B and hepatitis C in China from 2005 to 2020

Based on the reported incidence (RI) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) from 2005 to 2020, which was collected from the China Science Data Center of Public Health, descriptive analyses were conducted, including joinpoint regression, age-period-cohort modeling, and spatial and spatiotemporal analyses. The average annual percentage changes for HBV and HCV were -0.66% (95% confidence interval (CI):1.73% to 0.56%) and 9.18% (95% CI: 7.92% to 10.66%), indicating an overall declining trend for HBV and a significant increasing trend for HCV nationally. According to the detected joinpoints for HBV, three provinces, including Guangxi (2014-2020), Hunan (2007-2020), and Anhui (2014-2020), showed significant upward trends in annual percentage change. Notably, only Tianjin exhibited a rebound in HCV RI, shifting from a significant decline in the earlier study period (2005-2013) to a significant increase in the later period (2013-2020). There was a trend of shifting age distribution of HBV/HCV RIs toward older populations. Although both diseases showed spatial clustering during the study period, their local heterogeneity and spatiotemporal evolutionary patterns were not entirely consistent. These findings may inform HBV/HCV control policies in China and globally, contributing to the achievement of the World Health Organization's 2030 elimination targets.