Psychoneuroimmunology of Viral Hepatitis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Genetic variants in viral hepatitis are linked to higher depression risk, with a pooled hazard ratio (HR) of 2.28 (95% CI: 1.48–3.52) across included studies.

• Why it matters: HCC and viral hepatitis are associated with neuropsychiatric disorders, but it remains unclear whether symptoms reflect psychological reactions or biologically grounded psychoneuroimmune dysfunction.
• What they did: A pre-registered systematic review and meta-analysis (PROSPERO 2026 CRD420251081757) synthesized 24 studies combining psychosocial outcomes with immune dysregulation markers, supported by bibliometric and network analyses.
• The result: In HCC, adverse outcomes were associated with a pooled HR of 1.92 (95% CI: 1.09–3.39), and TNF-a showed a tendency toward lower levels in viral hepatitis patients with versus without NPDs.

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