{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,27]],"date-time":"2026-02-27T07:28:55Z","timestamp":1772177335326,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,25]],"date-time":"2026-02-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1771977600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100007682","name":"School of Medicine, University of Zagreb","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["10106-24-1501"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["10106-24-1501"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100007682","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Antibodies"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Viral hepatitis A\u2013E represents a significant public health problem. Data on the prevalence of viral hepatitis markers among alcoholics are inconsistent. Methods: The study included 151 patients treated for alcohol abuse in one Croatian center. The control group consisted of 110 individuals from the general population tested for a routine check-up. The prevalence of viral hepatitis markers was assessed using serology and molecular methods. Results: The prevalence rates of hepatitis markers among patients were as follows: anti-HAV, 15.2%; anti-HBs, 11.9%; anti-HBc\/anti-HBs, 2.6%; anti-HCV, 4.0%; and anti-HEV, 14.6%. HCV RNA was detected in one patient (0.6%). Compared with the control group, patients showed significantly higher HCV seroprevalence (4.0 vs. 0%), while the prevalence of other hepatitis markers did not differ significantly between the groups. The anti-HAV prevalence was associated with age (from 0% in patients aged &lt;40 years to 42.9% in patients aged 60+ years), employment status (highest among retired individuals at 46.2%), and age of occasional alcohol consumption (highest seroprevalence of 26.3% in those who reported consumption between 22 and 25 years). The association between anti-HEV and educational level was of borderline significance. Logistic regression showed that older and retired patients and those who consumed alcohol occasionally between 22 and 25 years showed higher odds for HAV seropositivity (OR = 11.454\u201349.400, OR = 6.857, and OR = 4.464, respectively). Patients with university degrees were at lower risk for HEV seroprevalence (OR = 0.083). Conclusions: Alcoholic patients showed a higher HCV seroprevalence than the general population, while the prevalence of other viral hepatitis markers did not differ between the groups. Further studies on a larger cohort of patients are needed to confirm these findings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/antib15020020","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,25]],"date-time":"2026-02-25T10:59:16Z","timestamp":1772017156000},"page":"20","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Prevalence of Viral Hepatitis Antibodies Among Alcoholics in Croatia: A Single Center\u2019s Results"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5357-5890","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maja","family":"Vilibi\u0107","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, \u201cSestre Milosrdnice\u201d University Hospital Center, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"},{"name":"School of Medicine, Catholic University of Croatia, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Klara","family":"Barbi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Statistics Concentrator, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Maja","family":"Bogdani\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Virology, Croatian Institute of Public Health, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"},{"name":"School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9852-5806","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Snje\u017eana","family":"\u017didovec-Lepej","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Immunological and Molecular Diagnostics, University Hospital for Infectious Diseases \u201cDr. Fran Mihaljevi\u0107\u201d, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ana","family":"Mato\u0161i\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, \u201cSestre Milosrdnice\u201d University Hospital Center, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"},{"name":"Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ana","family":"Sankovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, University of Applied Health Sciences, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dalibor","family":"Karlovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, \u201cSestre Milosrdnice\u201d University Hospital Center, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"},{"name":"School of Medicine, Catholic University of Croatia, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9362-7213","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Leona","family":"Radmani\u0107 Matotek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Immunological and Molecular Diagnostics, University Hospital for Infectious Diseases \u201cDr. Fran Mihaljevi\u0107\u201d, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nata\u0161a","family":"Kutela","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Immunological and Molecular Diagnostics, University Hospital for Infectious Diseases \u201cDr. Fran Mihaljevi\u0107\u201d, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sergej","family":"Nadalin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine, Catholic University of Croatia, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"},{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, General Hospital \u201cDr. Josip Ben\u010devi\u0107\u201d, 35000 Slavonski Brod, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ema","family":"Borko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Virology, Croatian Institute of Public Health, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0398-5346","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vladimir","family":"Savi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Poultry Center, Croatian Veterinary Institute, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5170-947X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ljubo","family":"Barbi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Marija","family":"Santini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Infections in Immunocompromised Patients, University Hospital for Infectious Diseases \u201cDr. Fran Mihaljevi\u0107\u201d, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hrvojka","family":"Jankovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Virology, Croatian Institute of Public Health, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Vladimir","family":"Stevanovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1877-5547","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tatjana","family":"Vilibi\u0107-\u010cavlek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Virology, Croatian Institute of Public Health, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"},{"name":"School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"CDC (2025, November 05). 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