title: The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori positivity in a symptom-free population, aged 1 to 40 years.
abstract: Epidemiologic data about the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori positivity as determined by serology are presented in a large series of asymptomatic subjects (n = 1046). Serology is nowadays generally accepted as a valid non-invasive screening method for the detection of a Helicobacter pylori infection. Blood samples were taken from apparently healthy children (n = 480; aged 1-17 years) and pregnant women (n = 566; age 18-40 years) who were admitted for routine pre-surgery or pre-natal blood analysis. 162 (15.5%) had a positive titer for Helicobacter pylori. There was a significant increase in the number of positive patients with increasing age (ranging from 6.2% in the age group of the 1-5 years old to 31.0% in the age group of the 36-40 years old (p < 0.01). The meaning of this relatively high prevalence of "asymptomatic carriers" remains to be evaluated. A long-term follow-up of these patients should be considered to evaluate if they will develop clinical manifestations suggestive for Helicobacter pylori infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Academisch Ziekenhuis, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Blecker
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lanciers
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hauser
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Vandenplas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial