Ethnicity is a strong predictor for Helicobacter pylori infection in young women in a multi‐ethnic European city

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM At the same time that H. pylori prevalence is declining in Western countries, immigrants from developing countries with high H. pylori prevalence have settled in Western urban areas. Actual epidemiologic data on H. pylori in a migrant community may help in realizing a more selective approach to assess H. pylori-related diseases. We aimed to define H. pylori prevalence as well as risk groups for H. pylori in a cohort of young women living in a multi-ethnic European city. METHODS We measured IgG anti-H. pylori and CagA-antibodies in serum of pregnant women included in a population-based prospective cohort study. Information on demographics, and socio-economic status was collected by questionnaires. Chi-square and logistic regression were used. RESULTS In total, 3146 (46%) of the 6837 tested women (mean age 29.7 ± 5.3) were H. pylori-positive and 1110 (35%) of them were CagA-positive. The H. pylori prevalence in Dutch women was 24%, which was significantly lower than in non-Dutch women (64%; p<0.001). In particular, H. pylori positivity was found in 92% of Moroccan (OR 19.2; 95% CI 11.8-32.0), 80% of Cape Verdean (7.6; 5.0-11.5), 81% of Turkish (9.0; 6.7-12.1), 60% of Dutch Antillean (3.3; 2.3-4.7), and 58% of Surinamese women (3.0; 2.3-3.8). Among H. pylori-positive Dutch subjects, 19% were CagA-positive compared with 40% of the non-Dutch subjects (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Despite a general trend of declining prevalence in Western countries, H. pylori remains highly prevalent in migrant communities, which may constitute target groups for screening and eradication to prevent H. pylori-related diseases.

Epidemiology of Helicobacter pylori Infection among Symptomatic Patients, Correlation with Endoscopic Findings and it’s Association with Type II Diabetes Mellitus

“…Regarding the influence of the lifestyle on the prevalence of H. pylori infection our data supports the hypothesis that there is no significant association between H. pylori and alcohol use or smoking which was shown in multiple studies [20][21][22][23]. Markers of low socioeconomic status such as a low family income [24] and low educational level [25][26][27][28], had all a higher likelihood of carrying H. pylori infection. Likewise, our current results established that: lower the education of people the higher is the risk for H. pylori infection.…”

“…Simon reported a higher prevalence of H. pylori infection in diabetic patients compared with controls (62% vs. 21%) [26]. These data were further confirmed in 1996 by a case-control study that examined 143 diabetics [25]. Zelenkova had reported a prevalence of H. pylori to be lower in diabetics compared to non-diabetic controls (27% vs. 51%) [27,28].…”

“…However in our study, 31.6% of GU patients and 62.5% of DU patients were H. pylori positive. This decrease in the prevalence of PUD related to H. pylori was reported in several studies in Australia and the United States of America [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. Several factors may have influenced the decreased rate of PUD associated with H. pylori such as the use NSAIDs.…”

Helicobacter pylori: enemy, commensal or, sometimes, friend?

“…Remarkably, some similar changes have been documented in spousal transmission of H. pylori in humans, providing some clues on the differences between early (vertical) versus late (horizontal) transmission [10]. Even in cosmopolitan cities with large immigrant populations, the H. pylori strains were found to accurately indicate the ethnic origin [12] and the infection rates, while decreasing for all groups within populations in developed cities, remain higher in the immigrant populations compared to resident ones [13]. However, it is precisely these differences that are key to understand if H. pylori can be considered friend or foe and can provide us insight on how we interact with it.…”

Helicobacter pylori as a trigger and aggravating factor in rheumatoid arthritis and other rheumatic diseases

“…Данные о влиянии ку-рения и алкоголя на частоту выявления H. pylori противоре-чивы. В большинстве исследований такой связи не выявле-но [16,17], однако некоторые авторы относят регулярное курение и употребление алкоголя к факторам риска зараже-ния [18], другие отмечают защитный эффект алкоголя [19].…”