Hepatitis E virus seroprevalence is associated with neurodegenerative disorders in older people with dementia: a case-control study.

In this case-control study, we evaluated the association between serum antibodies against hepatitis E virus (HEV) and central nervous system (CNS) neurodegenerative disorders (NDs) in older people with dementia. The presence of anti-HEV antibodies was related to a higher adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of having CNS-NDs by neuropathological diagnosis (aOR = 2.13; p = 0.007) and clinical/neuropathological diagnosis (aOR = 1.84; p = 0.017). Besides, serum anti-HEV antibodies were directly related to neuropathological injury (higher vascular pathology, aOR = 1.97; p = 0.006) and higher probability of having Alzheimer-type pathology (aOR = 1.84; p = 0.022). In conclusion, the presence of anti-HEV antibodies was related to higher odds of CNS-NDs and neuropathological injury in older people.