Trends of hepatitis B virus genotype distribution in chronic hepatitis B patients in Japan

Kazumasa Sakamoto; Kiyoaki Ito; Hiroshi Yotsuyanagi; Hiroshi Yatsuhashi; Yasuhito Tanaka; Shuhei Hige; Yasuhiro Takikawa; Yoshiyuki Ueno; Kazuhide Yamamoto; Fumio Imazeki; Jun Inoue; Masayuki Kurosaki; Takeji Umemura; Hidenori Toyoda; Eiji Mita; Kojiro Michitaka; Tatsuji Maeshiro; Norie Yamada; Atsushi Suetsugu; Miwa Kawanaka; Yuya Seko; Kentaro Matsuura; Akinori Okumura; Yoshitaka Fukuzawa; Masaya Sugiyama; Masashi Mizokami; Masashi Yoneda

doi:10.1007/s00535-022-01921-4

Trends of hepatitis B virus genotype distribution in chronic hepatitis B patients in Japan

J Gastroenterol. 2022 Dec;57(12):971-980. doi: 10.1007/s00535-022-01921-4. Epub 2022 Sep 29.

Authors

Kazumasa Sakamoto¹, Kiyoaki Ito², Hiroshi Yotsuyanagi^{3

4}, Hiroshi Yatsuhashi⁵, Yasuhito Tanaka⁶, Shuhei Hige⁷, Yasuhiro Takikawa⁸, Yoshiyuki Ueno⁹, Kazuhide Yamamoto¹⁰, Fumio Imazeki¹¹, Jun Inoue¹², Masayuki Kurosaki¹³, Takeji Umemura¹⁴, Hidenori Toyoda¹⁵, Eiji Mita¹⁶, Kojiro Michitaka¹⁷, Tatsuji Maeshiro¹⁸, Norie Yamada¹⁹, Atsushi Suetsugu²⁰, Miwa Kawanaka²¹, Yuya Seko²², Kentaro Matsuura²³, Akinori Okumura¹, Yoshitaka Fukuzawa¹, Masaya Sugiyama²⁴, Masashi Mizokami²⁵, Masashi Yoneda¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Gastroenterology, Aichi Medical University, 1-1, Yazakokarimata, Nagakute, Aichi, 480-1195, Japan.
² Department of Gastroenterology, Aichi Medical University, 1-1, Yazakokarimata, Nagakute, Aichi, 480-1195, Japan. [email protected].
³ Division of Infectious Diseases, Advanced Clinical Research Center, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
⁴ Department of Infectious Diseases and Applied Immunology, IMSUT Hospital of Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
⁵ Clinical Research Center, Department of Hepatology, National Hospital Organization Nagasaki Medical Center, Nagasaki, Japan.
⁶ Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
⁷ Department of Gastroenterology, Sapporo Kosei General Hospital, Sapporo, Japan.
⁸ Department of Internal Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Iwate, Japan.
⁹ Department of Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, Yamagata University, Yamagata, Japan.
¹⁰ Department of Internal Medicine, Okayama Saiseikai General Hospital, Okayama, Japan.
¹¹ Safety and Health Organization, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
¹² Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
¹³ Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Musashino Red Cross Hospital, Musashino, Japan.
¹⁴ Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Japan.
¹⁵ Department of Gastroenterology, Ogaki Municipal Hospital, Ogaki, Japan.
¹⁶ Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, National Hospital Organization Osaka National Hospital, Osaka, Japan.
¹⁷ Gastroenterology Center, Ehime Prefectural Central Hospital, Matsuyama, Japan.
¹⁸ Department of Infectious, Respiratory, and Digestive Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan.
¹⁹ Department of Internal Medicine, Center for Liver Diseases, Seizankai Kiyokawa Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
²⁰ Department of Gastroenterology, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu, Japan.
²¹ Department of General Internal Medicine2, Kawasaki Medical School, Okayama, Japan.
²² Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
²³ Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Japan.
²⁴ Department of Viral Pathogenesis and Controls, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Ichikawa, Japan.
²⁵ Genome Medical Sciences Project, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Ichikawa, Japan.

PMID: 36173513
DOI: 10.1007/s00535-022-01921-4

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the most prevalent chronic viral infections that causes chronic hepatitis B (CHB). In Japan, genotypes B and C account for most of acute and chronic cases of hepatitis. However, previous studies showed that the prevalence of genotype A in CHB gradually increased every 5 years. Therefore, we have conducted a nationwide survey to comprehensively investigate the trends of HBV genotype distribution in CHB patients in Japan.

Methods: 4421 CHB patients were recruited between 2015 and 2016. Clinical characteristics and distribution of CHB patients among different age groups and genotypes in 2015-2016 was compared with those in 2000-2001, 2005-2006, and 2010-2011.

Results: The percentages of genotype A, B, C, and D were 4.0, 16.2, 79.1, and 0.7%, respectively. While the overall percentage of CHB patients with genotype A did not change in the past 5 years, CHB with genotype A increased in young adults. On the other hand, the peak distribution of CHB with genotypes B and C, two genotypes with the largest patient population, has shifted to an older age group.

Conclusions: In Japan, the peak distribution for CHB with genotypes B and C advanced to an older age group while CHB with genotype A expanded in a younger age group. Given the universal HBV vaccination launch in Japan in 2016, these pre-vaccination survey data provide important baseline information for comparative studies of the impact of universal vaccination on HBV genotypes.

Keywords: Chronic hepatitis B; Genotype; Geographical distribution; Hepatitis B virus; Trend of genotype.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
DNA, Viral
Genotype
Hepatitis B virus / genetics
Hepatitis B*
Hepatitis B, Chronic* / epidemiology
Humans
Japan / epidemiology
Young Adult

Substances

DNA, Viral

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding