High prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and histologic gastritis in asymptomatic Hispanics

Abstract

In this study, we estimated the prevalence of Helicobacter pylon infection and histologic gastritis in 58 asymptomatic Hispanic adult volunteers (mean age, 41 years; 59% male) by endoscopic biopsy of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Forty-six subjects (79%) were found to harbor H. pylori in gastric biopsies, and all had histologic gastritis. Four other subjects were found to have gastritis in the absence of H. pylori. Similar prevalences of H. pylon and gastritis were noted in all age groups and also in American-born and immigrant Hispanics. Biopsy data and serologic studies of H. pylon antibodies correlated well. We conclude that H. pylon infection is an almost universal finding in the gastric mucosa of asymptomatic adult Hispanics, regardless of age. The clinical significance of these findings is unknown, but we speculate that H. pylon and its associated gastritis could have a role in the high incidence of gastric carcinoma in Hispanic populations.

Genome sequences of 65Helicobacter pyloristrains isolated from asymptomatic individuals and patients with gastric cancer, peptic ulcer disease, or gastritis

“…The Gram‐negative bacterium Helicobacter pylori has been colonizing the gastric mucosa of modern humans since their migration out of Africa 60 000 years ago (Linz et al ., ). Infection is typically established in childhood, maintained for life, and invariably results in histologic gastritis (Dooley et al ., ; Dehesa et al ., ; Marshall, ; Suerbaum & Michetti, ). Helicobacter pylori has been identified as the etiologic agent of most peptic ulcer disease (Marshall & Warren, ; NIH, ), can cause gastric mucosa‐associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma (Wotherspoon et al ., ; Genta et al ., ), and is a risk factor for the development of gastric adenocarcinoma (Parsonnet et al ., ; Talley et al ., ).…”

The Effect of Age and Occupation on the Seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori Infection

“…There is n o information on the specific natu,e of the farm exposures to determine the potential source for tl1is early transmission. Ethnic status (8,9,13,14,33,34) may be related to the seroprevalence of H pylori infection, or perhaps residence (ie, urban, suburban, rural) and not occupation is the important factor in acquisition of H pylori infection. Unfortunately, the present study lacked the demographic data to evaluate this hypothesis: however, the population of Manitoba is predominantly Caucasian.…”

Characterization of risk factors for Helicobacter pylori infection among men attending a sexually transmitted disease clinic: lack of evidence for sexual transmission

“…The assay has been validated previously in comparison with examination of H. pylori in gastric biopsy specimens and has sensitivity and specificity each exceeding 90% (7,8,11,23,32,33). Therefore, serology is a reliable tool for diagnosing H. pylori infections in seroepidemiologic studies (6,13,18,19,22,24,26).…”