title: Interaction among ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and Helicobacter pylori seroprevalence in Israeli children and adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the study was to examine the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection among Israeli children from different backgrounds and to assess potential interactions between ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), and H pylori seroprevalence.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present sero-epidemiologic study was conducted among 0- to 20-year-old children seeking medical attention, not specifically gastrointestinal symptoms, using sera collected between 2000 and 2001 from 575 Israeli Arab children, 584 Jewish children from the general population, and sera that were obtained between 1997 and 2007 from 464 children of an ultraorthodox Jewish community. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure H pylori serum immunoglobulin G antibodies and seropositivity to H pylori CagA strains.
  
  
  RESULTS
  H pylori seropositivity was 22.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 19.7-26.5) among Jewish children from the general population, 25.2% (95% CI 21.5-29.4) among ultraorthodox Jewish children, and 45.6% (95% CI 41.5-49.7) among Arab children. H pylori seroprevalence increased significantly with age in the 3 study groups, but it was consistently higher in Arab children. Compared with Jewish participants from high SES and controlling for age and sex, the odds ratio for H pylori seropositivity was 2.03 (95% CI 1.31-3.12) in Jewish children from intermediate SES, 2.42 (95% CI 1.29-4.53) in Arab children from intermediate SES, 2.26 (95% CI 1.52-3.36) in Jewish children from low SES, and 5.72 (95% CI 3.89-8.42) in Arab children from low SES. CagA seropositivity was 40.8% and 45.0% among Jewish and Arab children, respectively (P =0.59), and it was highest among subjects of lower SES.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Socioeconomic factors may not totally explain the ethnic differences in H pylori prevalence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Khitam
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Muhsen
authors.forename: Avishag
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nir
authors.forename: Anya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spungin-Bialik
authors.forename: Ravit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bassal
authors.forename: Sophy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goren
authors.forename: Dani
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cohen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D018912:Arabs / Q000208:ethnology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007223:Infant; D007557:Israel / Q000208:ethnology; D007585:Jews / Q000208:ethnology*; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; C080866:cagA protein, Helicobacter pylori