Hepatitis B Infection Among Pregnant Women in China: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: A study of the current situation and characteristics of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among Chinese pregnant women is meaningful to provide baseline information for future research and policy making, with an aim to eliminate HBV in China. OBJECTIVES: To provide the epidemiological status of HBV infection among pregnant women in China. METHODS: PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, and three Chinese databases were searched. Cohort studies and cross-sectional studies on HBV prevalence in Chinese pregnant women, published after 2016, were retrieved. In addition, combined HBV prevalence and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. This research was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42021289123). MAIN RESULTS: A total of 42 studies were included in the study, with a sample size of 4,007,518 cases, and 20 provinces in China. The prevalence of HBV in Chinese pregnant women was 6.64% (95% CI: 5.72–7.57%) during the period between 2016 and 2021. Among HBsAg positive pregnant women, the HBeAg positive rate was 25.80% (95% CI: 22.26–29.69%). Moreover, geographic regions with HBV prevalence ranking from high to low were in western China, eastern China, and central China, successively. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of HBV in Chinese pregnant women is intermediate endemic, although disparities exist between different regions. Among pregnant women with HBV infection, a high proportion of the patients have strong infectivity. Factors affecting HBV prevalence remain controversial, which demands further studies. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier: CRD42021289123.