Seroprevalence and Potential Risk Factors for Helicobacter pylori Infection in Brazilian Children

Abstract

Background:Helicobacter pylori infection has been proved to be of great relevance to public health in unindustrialized countries, especially in low socioeconomic groups. Poor hygiene, deficient sanitation, and crowded conditions have been reported as risk factors for this infection. In this work, we investigated whether social and demographic characteristics were associated with anti-H. pylori IgG antibodies in 1104 children aged 4–11 years old from Salvador, a large city located in northeastern Brazil.Methods:Standardized questionnaires were used to obtain social, demographic, and environmental data for the studied population in two periods of time (from 1997 to 2003 and in 2005). Anti-H. pylori IgG antibodies were assessed by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 2005.Results:Anti-H. pylori IgG antibody was present in 28.7% of the children. Among the studied variables, the following were positively associated with the presence of anti-H. pylori antibodies in multivariable analyses: age above 8 years old (OR = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.23–2.40), a larger sibling number (OR = 1.66, 95% CI = 1.26–2.18), nursery attendance (OR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.04–2.12), location of the house at an unpaved street (OR = 2.03, 95% CI = 1.44–2.87) and absence of a flush toilet (OR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.00–1.74).Conclusion:Our data show that H. pylori infection in children from a major Brazilian city is associated with variables indicative of a crowded environment and deficient sanitation/habitation conditions, leading to the conclusion that improvements in hygiene and social conditions may protect children against this infection.

3rd BRAZILIAN CONSENSUS ON Helicobacter pylori

“…The primary risk factors for acquiring H pylori in Brazil are related to unfavorable living conditions experienced during childhood, including low family income, low education levels of the children's parents, lack of proper household sanitary facilities, household crowding or high density housing or in institutions; improper personal hygiene habits, presence of an infected family member, especially the mother, and deficient basic public health services such as supply of piped drinking water, household garbage collection and sewerage with treatment plants for collected waste (9,36,55,56,79,110) .…”

Genes de patogenicidade de Helicobacter pylori, polimorfismos de citocinas e fatores ambientais afetam o desenvolvimento de doenças gástricas: uma visão geral

“…85 A study, with Brazilian children, showed that the number of siblings and nursery attendance were positively associated with H. pylori infection and also that the house location (served by paved road or not) is a potential risk factor for infection, indicating that contaminated soil may be a source of infection, and concluding that the H. pylori infection in children is highly related to poor hygiene and crowded conditions. 86 A study conducted in six Latin-American countries also reported that crowding was positively associated with H.…”

Prevalence and risk factors for Helicobacter pylori infection in southwest China: a study of health examination participants based on 13C-urea breath test

“…Researchers have also found that infection with H. pylori can result in cardiovascular, hematological, hepatobiliary, and metabolic diseases (5)(6)(7)(8)(9). Currently, many epidemiological surveys have been performed to identify risk factors for H. pylori infection; age, obesity, and type 2 diabetes mellitus have been identified as risk factors (10)(11)(12)(13). In terms of diagnosis, stool antigen testing, gastric biopsies, CLO-test, and urea breath test are used.…”

“…In terms of diagnosis, stool antigen testing, gastric biopsies, CLO-test, and urea breath test are used. However, 13 C-urea breath test is the best known and most widely used test for detecting the presence of H. pylori infection and showed excellent accuracy compared to histology (14,15).…”

“…We studied a cohort from Chongqing, China. We used a 13 C-urea breath test to analyze the prevalence of H. pylori infection and explore the potential risk factors for H. pylori infection in this population. It is our hope that our study may contribute to the current knowledge on the prevention and management of H. pylori infection.…”