title: Association between Helicobacter pylori infection and pathological changes in the gastric mucosa in Chinese children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  H. pylori infection in children has a high prevalence worldwide. The disease can cause progressive gastric mucosal inflammation, as verified in animal models. However, data from large-scale clinical studies are limited.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined 1,634 Chinese children with upper gastrointestinal discomfort using endoscopy. The clinical and pathological data of the patients were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 524 (32.1%) patients were infected with H. pylori, and the prevalence of H. pylori infection increased with age. The H. pylori-infected patients exhibited a significantly higher prevalence of active inflammation (26.9% vs. 4.1%), lymphoid follicle formation (18.5% vs. 4.6%) and marked lymphocyte infiltration (19.7% vs. 5.6%). The H. pylori-infected patients also exhibited a significantly higher prevalence of moderate to marked chronic superficial gastritis (41.9% vs. 9.2%) and moderate chronic atrophic gastritis (21.7% vs. 2.6%) than the uninfected patients (p<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  H. pylori infection is associated with the degree of gastric mucosal inflammation and the severity of different types of chronic gastritis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Rui Jin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai JiaoTong University, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Xinqiong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiaojin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Chundi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001284:Atrophy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000473:pathology*; D005756:Gastritis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000473:pathology*; D005773:Gastroscopy; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000208:ethnology / Q000473:pathology*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008221:Lymphoid Tissue / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D020556:Neutrophil Infiltration; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index