Analysis of scientific publications related to Hepatitis B prevention in the last decade: 2013-2023

Introduction: The World Health Organization estimates that chronic infection with the Hepatitis B Virus globally affects approximately 296 million individuals, with 1.5 million new infections yearly. Those affected often remain asymptomatic for extended periods but may inadvertently transmit Hepatitis B Virus to others. Aim : To analyze scientific publications related to the prevention of hepatitis B from 2013 to 2023. Outlining: A bibliometric study with a quantitative approach analyzing 333 articles using the Bibliometrix R package and its web interface Biblioshiny. Results: Articles were predominantly published in 2018 and 2019, with the Journal of Viral Hepatitis being the primary scientific journal. These articles were authored by 2,467 individuals from 810 institutions, emphasizing Udice - French Research Universities. Among the 81 countries identified, China figured prominently. The articles accumulated a total of 8,964 citations. The KeyWords Plus™ highlighted a focus on infection and its transmission pathways, notably vertical/perinatal, immunization against infection, and treatment using antiretrovirals. Implications : The need for new studies focused on educational interventions related to hepatitis B prevention was identified, including the creation, application, and evaluation of educational technologies.


INTRODUCTION
The World Health Organization (WHO)   estimates that chronic Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection affects 296 million individuals globally, with 1.5 million new infections annually. 1hose affected often remain asymptomatic for long periods but may inadvertently transmit HBV to others. 2 In this context, it is noteworthy that transmission occurs mainly through direct contact with blood, contaminated body fluids, and mucous secretions from infected individuals.This can happen through the sharing of needles between injecting drug users, unprotected sexual intercourse, blood, and perinatal transfusions from the infected mother to the newborn during birth. 2 Symptoms of hepatitis B include fatigue, lack of appetite, stomach pain, nausea, and jaundice.
However, it can become a chronic infection, which in the long term can lead to serious and even fatal health problems such as liver disease or liver cancer. 3 the period from 2000 to 2022, Brazil registered 276,646 confirmed cases of hepatitis B.
The highest incidence was observed in the Southeast region (34.2%),followed by the South (31.3%),North (14.5%) regions, Northeast (10.9%) and Central-West (9.1%).Between 2012 and 2019, there was a 16.0% reduction in hepatitis B detection rates in the country, from 8.1 to 6.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.In 2022, the detection rate decreased even further, reaching 4.3 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants. 4nsidering the indices above, the prevention of hepatitis B is imperative, which includes not sharing needles, the use of condoms, and, mainly, and expanded it to all age groups in 2016. 5 for the vaccine, it is recommended to administer three doses, which are capable of providing protective levels of antibodies in more than 90% of healthy adults and young people and in more than 95% of infants, children, and adolescents. 6wever, adherence to vaccination among the adult population is still limited, mainly due to the phenomenon known as vaccine hesitancy. 7here vaccine hesitancy is responsible for the increase in the number of vaccine-preventable diseases in unvaccinated or under-vaccinated populations. 8erefore, it is necessary to research the prevention of hepatitis B to significantly reduce the incidence of the disease and support intervention actions related to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.These actions can significantly reduce public spending associated with monitoring those affected at different health care and assistance levels. 7ditionally, addressing this issue is crucial since the preventive sphere also encompasses the conduct of initiatives that induce the modification of risk behaviors, such as the practice of unprotected sexual relations, the practice of sexual relations with multiple partners, and the abusive consumption of alcohol and illicit substances.

METHOD
This study constitutes a descriptive bibliometric analysis employing a quantitative approach based on the five steps for conducting bibliometric research. 9he selection of articles to be analyzed began with a search on Web of Science™ (WoS) on September 14, 2023.
For the formulation of the search strategy, the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) were consulted for term selection.Terms were related using the boolean operator "AND" and the asterisk (*), representing any group of characters, including no 2 characters.
The search utilized advanced title search to enhance precision and minimize false-positive results.
The analysis included only original articles published from January 1, 2013, to September 14, 2023, excluding those not aligned with the research scope, as well as review articles, opinion pieces, reflections, editorials, and case studies.Thus, 333 articles were selected from the initially identified 1548 documents after filtering and applying predefined criteria.Information from these articles was downloaded in text file format for subsequent analysis.Figure 1 succinctly presents the process of article selection included in this study.

RESULTS
The number of articles published per year can be seen in

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Rev Pre Infec e Saúde.2024;10:5494 periodicos.ufpi.br vaccination.It is worth highlighting the importance of Brazil, which began introducing the vaccine in 1998 as part of the National Immunization Program (PNI)

Figure 1 -
Figure 1 -Search strategy used to select included articles.

Figure 2 -
Figure 2 -Number of articles according to year of publication.(n=333)

Figure 3 - 4 Rev
Figure 3 -Main scientific journals according to the number of articles.

Figure 4 -
Figure 4 -Main authors according to the number of publications over time.

Figure 5 -
Figure 5 -Main institutions according to co-occurrence in authors' affiliations.

139Source:
figure, it is possible to identify the formation of three

Figure 8 -
Figure 8 -Conceptual structure of articles related to hepatitis B prevention.

Table 1 -
Ranking of the most cited articles related to hepatitis B prevention.