Risk factors of Helicobacter pylori infection among adults in northern China.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is one of the leading causes of gastritis, gastric ulcer, gastric cancer and other gastrointestinal diseases. In this study we aim to evaluate those factors that involved in the prevalence of H. pylori infection, such as socioeconomic living conditions, socioeconomic level, eating habits, and H. pylori gene subtype. METHODOLOGY Included in this study are data on the daily habits and chronic disease history obtained from personal interviews of 798 healthy adults. The presence ofH. pylori infection is identified using an ELISA kit for detection of H. pylori IgG antibodies in serum. H. pylori gene subtype is determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and specific probes. RESULTS H. pylori prevalence is 54.5% in Northern China and diabetes, hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis, age and waist circumference played important roles in H. pylori prevalence. VacA-positive strains are the most popular genotype. The most common strain of H. pylori is vacuolating cytotoxin gene A product (VacA), VacA-sla-m2 subtype. CONCLUSIONS These data support that personal and environmental conditions affect H. pylori infection in adults, and H. pylori gene subtype may play important role in the prevalence of its infection.