Seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori and length of stay in a nursing home.
BACKGROUND
Helicobacter pylori infection appears to be contracted mainly in childhood, and it is associated with disadvantaged socioeconomic conditions, overcrowding, and living in institutions. In this study we determined the seroprevalence of H. pylori among elderly patients (age > or = 70 years) admitted to a major medical center in Israel, and studied the relationship between seroprevalence of H. pylori and the duration of stay in a nursing home prior to the admission.


METHODS
Whole blood from 182 consecutive patients hospitalized at the Rabin Medical Center was tested for the presence of anti-H. pylori IgG using Helisal Rapid Blood Test kit (Cortecs Diagnostics). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to study the relation between H. pylori seropositivity and possible predictive factors such as age, gender and duration of stay in a nursing home.


RESULTS
Of the 182 patients included in the study, 80 (44%) were living in nursing homes (NH) and 102 (56%) were living in their own homes (H) prior to admission. Subjects that stayed in nursing homes for more than 15 months were significantly more likely to be seropositive than subjects with a shorter duration of stay (84% and 63% respectively, p = 0.03). Using a multivariate logistic regression analysis on both the NH group and the whole group, seropositivity was found to be significantly associated with duration of stay in a nursing home (p = 0.03 and p = 0.01 respectively). Seropositivity was not associated with age in either group.


CONCLUSIONS
Living in a nursing home is associated with increased risk for H. pylori infection in the elderly. There is a strong correlation between the duration of stay in a nursing home and the prevalence of H. pylori infection.
Regev
A
A
Department of Gastroenterology, Rabin Medical Center, Petach Tikva, Israel.
Fraser
G M
GM
Braun
M
M
Maoz
E
E
Leibovici
L
L
Niv
Y
Y
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000276:immunology*; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D007902:Length of Stay; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009735:Nursing Homes; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial