Seroepidemiology of Helicobacter pylori infection in children living in eastern Turkey.
BACKGROUND
The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori is higher in developing countries, with most infections occurring in childhood. Because the prevalence in eastern Turkey has not been previously reported, we carried out an investigation to detect the prevalence of H. pylori infection in a large city center in this region.


METHODS
Serum samples of 466 randomly selected healthy schoolchildren aged 6-17 years were tested for the presence of anti-H. pylori IgG antibodies.


RESULTS
Overall 300 (64.4%) samples were seropositive. The frequency of H. pylori infection was similar in males and females (P = 0.47), was correlated with age (P < 0.0001) and was inversely correlated with economic status (P < 0.0001). Those who had a larger sibship size had a higher seroprevalence (P < 0.0001). There was no significant difference between children whose parents of different educational status (P = 0.56 for fathers and P = 0.86 for mothers).


CONCLUSIONS
This very high prevalence of H. pylori in eastern Turkey seems to depend on environmental factors.
Selimoglu
Mukadder Ayse
MA
Gastroenterology and Nutrition Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey. ayseselimoglu@hotmail.com
Ertekin
Vildan
V
Inandi
Tacettin
T
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005260:Female; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology