Helicobacter pylorij – infection in an Australian regional city: prevalence and risk factors

Abstract

Objective To investigate the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and potential risk factors for infection in an adult Australian population. Design Cross‐sectional study. Setting Ballarat, a major regional city in Victoria (population, 78 000; 92% born in Australia), November 1994 to July 1995. Participants 217 adults randomly selected from the electoral roll. Main outcome measures H. pylori lgG antibody status by enzyme immunoassay; amount of dental plaque; sociodemographic and other potential risk factors; odds ratios for risk factors determined by logistic regression analysis. Results Age‐standardised prevalence of H. pylori infection was 30.6%. After adjustment for age, sex and socioeconomic index, positive H. pylori status was significantly associated with increasing number of tooth surfaces with a high plaque score (odds ratio [OR], 1.7; 95% confidence interval [Cl], 1.1‐2.7), increasing number of years in a job with public contact (OR, 1.7; 95% Cl, 1.3‐2.3), blood group B antigen (OR, 3.1; 95% Cl, 1.1‐9.1), and having lived in a household with more than six members during childhood (OR, 2.5; 95% Cl, 1.1‐5.5). Negative H. pylori status was significantly associated with increasing education, having ever lived on a farm, and having teeth scaled less than once a year. Conclusions H. pylori infection is common. Dental plaque may be a reservoir for H. pylori, which is probably transmitted by person‐to‐person contact, and blood group B antigen may predispose to infection. Community education about effective oral hygiene and adoption of good hygiene practices by those with regular public contact may be important to prevent acquisition and transmission of H. pylori.

C-reactive protein, cardiovascular risk, and renal disease in a remote Australian Aboriginal community

“…CRP concentrations were correlated with at least one marker of clinical infection (skin sores), with total IgG levels (a marker of infection/inflammation which has a much longer half life than CRP) and with some serological markers of specific infections. The rates of seropositivity for all the infectious markers were, in turn, much higher than reported for non-indigenous Australians [42,43]. C. pneumoniae seroprevalence of 58 % was reported from one population-based study [42] (compared with 87 % in the present study), H. pylori seroprevalence of 31 % was observed in a regional Australian centre [43] (compared with 72 % in the present study), and CMV IgG was present in 128 out of 196 (65 %) cadaveric organ donors in Australia in 2000 (L. Excell, personal communication; compared with 100 % in the present study).…”

Helicobacter pylori infection in the Australian community: current prevalence and lack of association with ABO blood groups

“…Epidemiological studies in Australia using serological testing have revealed overall infection rates of 15−41%, 8−14 similar to that seen in other developed nations 15 . An earlier study from Melbourne, Australia, reported an overall H. pylori seroprevalence of 38%, with rates increasing with age and significantly higher seropositivity in men compared with women 14 .…”

Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori in the adolescent oral cavity

“…We could not confirm the hypothesis that HP's prevalence is proportional to the amount of plaque. Whereas several studies compared gastric HP's prevalence to the oral hygiene status [17,33], we have identified no study that examined the presence of specific oral bacteria in association with HP's prevalence in plaque. The possibility of a negative influence on HP's prevalence due to competing cariogenic bacteria was considered by Madinier et al [26] and Ishihara et al [38], and confirmed in part by the present study.…”

“…Die Vermutung, dass sich die HP-Prävalenz proportional zum Plaquevorkommen verhielt, konnte nicht bestä-tigt werden. Während mehrere Studien die gastrale HP-Präva-lenz mit der Mundhygienesituation verglichen haben [17,33], wurde bislang keine Studie gefunden, welche das Vorkommen spezifischer oraler Bakterien im Zusammenhang mit der HPPrävalenz in der Plaque untersuchte. Die Möglichkeit einer negativen Beeinflussung der HP-Prävalenz durch konkurrierende kariogene Bakterien wurde von Madinier et al [26] und Ishihara et al [38] in Betracht gezogen und konnte in der vorliegenden Studie teilweise bestätigt werden.…”