[Epidemiology and clinical characteristics of patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in Germany - results of a nationwide cross-sectional study]

Background and aims: Knowledge about the epidemiology, demography and social status of patients with replicative chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in Germany is still scarce. This cross-sectional study evaluated in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection, with a serum HBV-DNA concentration of at least 10,000 copies/mL (> 2000 IU/mL) at documentation visit, the epidemiology, socio-demographics, time of diagnosis, history of disease, prior therapies as well the therapeutic decision.

Methods: 74 German centres with predominately hepatologic focus, recorded in an online-survey the pseudonymised data of patients with chronic HBV-infection with a serum HBV-DNA-concentration of at least 10,000 copies/mL (n = 35).

Results: 65 % of the patients were male. The mean age was 40 ± 14 years. 63 % were immigrants (i. e., country of birth not being Germany). 37 % were HBeAg-positive. Mean ALT value 114 ± 183 IU/mL in males and 77 ± 176 IU/mL in females. ALT was above the upper limit of normal (ULN) in 59 % and 9 % of the patients were cirrhotic. The large immigrant groups, Turks (22 %), people from the former USSR (11 %) or from Southeast Asia (10 %) differed in terms of age, sex, HBeAg-status and clinical parameters clearly from each other as well as from German patients. 55 % of the patients from SE-Asia were female and overall considerably younger than German patients. 69 % of the patients with HBV-DNA > 10,000 copies/mL combined with ALT-levels above ULN, and 87 % with advanced fibrosis recieved antiviral treatment.

Conclusions: This database currently contains the largest collection of epidemiological data of CHB patients in Germany. It therefore allows a representative overview on the disease in Germany. In Germany CHB epidemiology is triggered by migration from countries with higher CHB prevalence. However, the high proportion of patients coming from states of the former USSR is likely to be a historical peculiarity of Germany. The sometimes weak German language skills as well as the cultural specifics in the different immigrant groups are still a challenge for health-care providers. The high proportion of viraemic patients, already being treated, could indicate a suboptimal efficacy of the available therapeutic options at the time documentation.