Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate hepatitis A seroprevalence by means of a prospective fieldwork in different age groups in a region with low and moderate socioeconomic and cultural level in İzmir.

Methods: This study was conducted between September 2015 and September 2016. After the consent forms of the volunteers (from parents for children) were obtained, 6 ml blood samples were taken from individuals and anti-HAV IgG was determined by enzyme immunoassay method. A questionnaire including the indicators of the welfare level used in the World Health Survey was applied to determine the level of welfare of individuals aged 16 years and older. All data were recorded in IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 21.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) computer program for analysis.

Results: 1336 individuals participated in the study and 989 (74%) of the participants had anti-HAV IgG seropositivity. The rate of seropositivity was 87.5% in the ≤4 age group, 28% in the 5-9 age group, 20.8% in the 10-14 age group, 28.9% in the 15-19 age group. The rate of seropositivity was 54% in the ≥20 age group, and 95.8% in ≥55 age group. 851 people completed the questionnaire about socioeconomic status. Socioeconomic level of those individuals was low in 32.9%, was moderate in 51.8%, and was high in 15.3%. Hepatitis A seropositivity was found in 81.8% of the individuals who completed the questionnaire. A statistically significant correlation was found between socioeconomic status and hepatitis A seropositivity (p=0.005).

Conclusions: In our study, the rate of seropositivity was found to be higher in children aged ≤4 years. Although our study population had a moderate and low socioeconomic level, seronegativity rate was significantly higher in children ≥5 years, adolescents and young adults. We interpreted this situation as a reflection of the epidemiological switch. It was thought that this fact should be taken into consideration in vaccination practices. Klimik Dergisi 2019; 32(3): 310-4.

Cite this article as: Çalık Ş, Tosun S, Arı A, et al. [Hepatitis A seroprevalence in different age groups in a region with low and moderate socioeconomic level in Izmir province: results of a fieldwork]. Klimik Derg. 2019; 32(3): 310-4. Turkish.