title: Serum pepsinogen values and Helicobacter pylori status among control subjects of a nested case-control study in the JACC study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Helicobacter pylori infection and serum pepsinogen values are strongly related with stomach cancer. The aim of this study was to know what were these factors among general population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects were randomly selected 633 control subjects in a nested case-control study for risk of stomach cancer. Most of them were from rural areas of Japan. Using frozen sera, pepsinogen I (PG I) and II (PG II) values and H. pylori antibody were measured. Those with PG I less than 50 ng/mL and the ratio of PG I to PG II (PG I/II) was less than 2.0 were defined as severe, those with PG I less than 70 ng/ml and PG I/II less than 3.0 were defined as mild and the other subjects were defined as no serological atrophy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  About 70% of the subjects were H. pylori seropositive and the seroprevalence did not depend on age or sex. Percentages of those with severe serological atrophy increased with age from 10% in those aged 40-49 years to 38% in 70 and more, and percentages of those with mild serological atrophy were about 30% independent of age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The subjects, who were expected to represent populations of rural area of Japan, had high prevalence of both H. pylori infection and serological atrophy of gastric mucosa. These facts should be considered in discussing results of the nested case-control study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Aichi Medical University School of Medicine, Japan. kikuchis@aichi-med-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Shogo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: Kiyoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yagyu
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Obata
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yingsong
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yatsuya
authors.forename: Yoshiharu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hoshiyama
authors.forename: Takaaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sakata
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mizoue
authors.forename: Noritaka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tokui
authors.forename: Yoshihisa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujino
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tamakoshi
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Toyoshima
authors.forename: Teruo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishibashi
authors.forename: Norihiko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hayakawa
authors.forename: Takesumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshimura
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D006304:Health Status; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020116:Pepsinogen A / Q000097:blood*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D015415:Biomarkers; D020116:Pepsinogen A