Dyspepsia Symptoms and Helicobacter pylori Infection, Nakuru, Kenya

The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection was studied in 138 patients with dyspepsia in a hospital in Nakuru, Kenya, and in 138 asymptomatic sex- and age-matched controls from the same population. Anti-H. pylori immunoglobulin (Ig) G was more prevalent in dyspeptic than asymptomatic persons (71% vs. 51%), particularly those <30 years old (71% vs. 38%). H. pylori seropositivity was associated with dyspepsia after adjusting for age, sex, and residence (urban or rural). Among adults, the association between H. pylori infection and dyspepsia remained after adjusting for the above factors and for educational attainment, family size, and manual occupation. H. pylori infection in asymptomatic residents of Nakuru, Kenya, was more prevalent in older persons, with a rate of 68%, than in those 31-40 years of age. However, young persons with dyspepsia had an unexpectedly high prevalence of H. pylori infection. H. pylori test-and-treat strategy should be considered in Kenyan patients with dyspepsia, particularly in persons <30 years of age.