Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) infection in Greece: the changing prevalence during a ten-year period and its antigenic profile.
BMC Gastroenterol
; 2: 11, 2002 May 16.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-12014991
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
To evaluate changes in H pylori infection prevalence in Greece during a ten-year period, and to examine its antigenic profile.METHODS:
Three groups of patients were studied. Group O-87 Banked serum samples of 200 consecutive adult outpatients, from the Hepato-Gastroenterology clinic of a teaching hospital at Athens, collected in 1987. Group O-97 Serum samples of 201 similarly selected outpatients from the same Unit, collected in 1997. Group BD-97 Serum samples of 120 consecutive blood donors from the same hospital, collected in 1997. H pylori IgG antibody seroprevalence was studied by a quantitative ELISA. Antigenic profile was studied by western-blot IgG assay, in 62 IgG positive patients of O-97 and BD-97. Results were analyzed by conventional statistics and multivariate regression analysis.RESULTS:
The H pylori seroprevalence increased with age in the three tested groups. In O-97, seroprevalence did not differ from that, in BD-97. On the contrary, there was a significant decrease in seropositivity between O-87 and O-97 (59.5% vs 49.2%, p = 0.039). Multiple regression analysis showed that age over 35 years (OR3.45, 95% CI1.59-7.49, p = 0.002) and year of patients' selection - that is 1987 or 1997 - (OR1.73, 95% CI1.14-2.65 for 1987, p = 0.010), were independent risk factors of H pylori infection. The seroprevalence of CagA+ and VacA+ strains was 77.4% and 58.5%, respectively, and type I(CagA+/VacA+) strains were significantly more common than type II(CagA-/VacA-) strains (59.7% vs 22.6%, p < 0.001).CONCLUSIONS:
During a ten-year period, we found a significant decrease of H pylori infection in Greece and our data support the birth cohort phenomenon as an explanation for the age-dependent increase of H pylori infection. The prevalence of CagA and/or VacA positive strains is relatively high, in a country with low incidence of gastric cancer.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Helicobacter pylori
/
Infecções por Helicobacter
/
Antígenos de Bactérias
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Região como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2002
Tipo de documento:
Article