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We examined the seroprevalence change of anti‐hepatitis D virus (HDV) antibodies in Taiwan from 2006 to 2019. A total of 1147 patients who had chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection were assessed. Of them, 51 (4.4%) were positive for anti‐HDV antibodies. Comparison between anti‐HDV‐positive and negative groups was performed to examine clinical and virological factors related to anti‐HDV positivity. It was found that the median HBV‐DNA concentration was 1.6 × 105 IU/mL (range, <20‐4.5 × 1010 IU/mL) and <20 IU/mL (range, <20‐2.0 × 109 IU/mL) for patients with negative and positive anti‐HDV antibodies, respectively (P < .001). In addition, a progressive year‐to‐year decrease of anti‐HDV seroprevalence was unveiled. For patients who had HBV‐DNA >15 000 IU/mL, the year‐to‐year (calculated every 2 years) seropositive rates of anti‐HDV were 10.0%, 7.9%, 0.7%, 0.3%, 0%, 0%, and 0% (P < .001). For patients who had HBV‐DNA <15 000 IU/mL, the year‐to‐year seropositive rates were 18.6%, 12.8%, 7.8%, 5.0%, 7.3%, 8.0%, and 3.7% (P < .001). In conclusion, seropositive of anti‐HDV was inversely associated with HBV‐DNA levels. A progressive decrease of anti‐HDV seroprevalence was found with no anti‐HDV‐positive cases detected in high HBV‐DNA patient group after 2014. Highlight: Seroprevalence of anti‐HDV is decreasing in Taiwan.From 2006‐2019, 4.4% of chronic hepatitis B patients were anti‐HDV positive.Seroprevalence of anti‐HDV is inversely correlated with HBV‐DNA levels.No anti‐HDV‐positive cases were found after 2014 in high HBV DNA patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence and associations of mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC) in patients with spontaneous clearance of hepatitis C virus (HCV) remain elusive. Materials and methods: A 13‐year prospective cohort study of patients with spontaneous HCV clearance was conducted in a tertiary care centre. Baseline characteristics, incident cardiovascular and neurologic events and cancers were analysed. Results: Of 104 consecutive patients (mean age: 54.08 years old; females: 71 [68%]), 37 (34.6%) had MC and 6 (5.8%) had cirrhosis. MC (+) patients were more female (86% vs 58%, P =.002), had higher rate of cirrhosis (14% vs 1.5%, P =.012), higher levels of Immunoglobulin G (IgG; P =.001), IgM (P =.002) and fibrosis‐4 (FIB‐4) (P =.004), but lower levels of complement C4 (P =.034) than the MC (−) patients. Female gender (95% confidence interval [CI] of odds ratio: 1.402‐26.715), levels of IgG (1.000‐1.004), IgM (1.009‐1.037) and FIB‐4 (1.217‐3.966) were independently associated with MC. Baseline rheumatoid factor (RF) levels were independently associated with incident cancer (95% CI hazard ratio [HR]: 1.001‐1.030 [HR: 1.015], P =.039). With a cut‐off value of 11.3 IU/mL, RF levels significantly predicted incident cancer (area under curve: 0.865, P =.002). No different cumulative incidences of cardiovascular and neurologic events, cancers or mortalities were identified between MC (+) and MC (−) patient. Conclusions: Approximately 1/3 of patients with spontaneous HCV clearance yielded MC, which harboured similar characteristics of MC in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Despite the negligible role of MC in the prognosis of patients with spontaneous HCV clearance, the connection between RF and incident cancer demands further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]