title: Long-term effect of Helicobacter pylori infection on serum pepsinogens.
abstract: Serum pepsinogen values are markers of gastric mucosal status and of gastric cancer risk. The effect of Helicobacter pylori infection and sibship size on change of serum pepsinogen values over a seven-year span was investigated. Data from 2584 subjects with phlebotomy were analyzed both in 1989 and in 1996. The subjects were classified by H. pylori serology and sibship size (1 - 3 vs. 4 and more). Pepsinogen I (PG I) to II (PG II) ratio in '96 minus that in '89 was defined as DeltaPG I / II and compared among the groups. DeltaPG I / II was lower and decrease of PG I / II was more frequent among H. pylori-positive subjects than among negative subjects. The difference was owing to a decrease of PG I in all subjects and owing to an increase of PG II in those not younger than 30 years in '89. In H. pylori-positive subjects, those with a larger sibship size showed lower DeltaPG I / II and higher frequency of PG I / II decline. H. pylori infection exerts a reducing effect on PG I / II during the seven-year span. The effect of H. pylori is stronger among those with a larger sibship size, who are expected to have been infected with H. pylori in childhood. Inducing atrophy of gastric mucosa, which is reflected by a decline of PG I / II, may be one of the mechanisms through which H. pylori elevates the risk of gastric cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan. kikuchis@aichi-med-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurosawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakiyama
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tenjin
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miki
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Wada
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inaba
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001284:Atrophy; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000097:blood*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020116:Pepsinogen A / Q000097:blood*; D020115:Pepsinogen C / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D020115:Pepsinogen C; D020116:Pepsinogen A