title: Does maternal smoking hinder mother-child transmission of Helicobacter pylori infection?
abstract: Evidence for early childhood as the critical period of Helicobacter pylori infection and for clustering of the infection within families suggests a major role of intrafamilial transmission. In a previous study, we found a strong inverse relation between maternal smoking and H. pylori infection among preschool children, suggesting the possibility that mother-child transmission of the infection may be less efficient if the mother smokes. To evaluate this hypothesis further, we carried out a subsequent population-based study in which H. pylori infection was measured by 13C-urea breath test in 947 preschool children and their mothers. We obtained detailed information on potential risk factors for infection, including maternal smoking, by standardized questionnaires. Overall, 9.8% (93 of 947) of the children and 34.7% (329 of 947) of the mothers were infected. Prevalence of infection was much lower among children of uninfected mothers (1.9%) than among children of infected mothers (24.7%). There was a strong inverse relation of children's infection with maternal smoking (adjusted odds ratio = 0.24; 95% confidence interval = 0.12-0.49) among children of infected mothers, but not among children of uninfected mothers. These results support the hypothesis of a predominant role for mother-child transmission of H. pylori infection, which may be less efficient if the mother smokes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brenner
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bode
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Adler
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rothenbacher
mesh_terms: D001944:Breath Tests; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000635:transmission*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D007774:Lactation; D008297:Male; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014508:Urea / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D014508:Urea