The prevalence of helicobacter pylori infection in the Netherlands. (July 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: van Blankenstein, Mark; van Vuuren, Anneke J.; Looman, Caspar W. N.; Ouwendijk, Martine; Kuipers, Ernst J.
• Is Part Of: Scandinavian journal of gastroenterology. Volume 48:Number 7(2013)
• Page Start: 794
• Page End: 800
• Publication Date: 2013-07
• Subjects: Gastroenterology -- Periodicals; Digestive organs -- Diseases -- Periodicals; 616.33
• DOI: 10.3109/00365521.2013.799221
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0036-5521

Abstract

<abstract> <title>Abstract</title> <p> <bold> <italic>Backgrounds.</italic> </bold> The prevalence of <italic>Helicobacter pylori</italic> has been declining in the developed countries, as it has the incidence of distal gastric carcinoma. Monitoring this decline and identifying populations not benefiting from this decline is a fit task for public health authorities, with blood donors an obvious source of sera. <bold><italic>Materials and methods.</italic></bold> We tested 1550 randomly selected blood donors, spread over 5–10 year age cohorts, from four regions in the southern half of The Netherlands, for the presence of antibodies against <italic>H. pylori</italic> and the CagA antigen. These donors were drawn from an area comprising 46% of the native Dutch population, but did not include non-European immigrants. <bold><italic>Results.</italic></bold> We observed an age specific decline in the mean seroprevalence of <italic>H. pylori</italic> from 48% for donors born between 1946 and 1935 to 16% for those born between 1987 and 1977. In <italic>H. pylori</italic> positive donors, the CagA seroprevalence declined from 38% to 14% in the same age cohorts. There were no significant differences between regions in either prevalence. <bold><italic>Conclusions.</italic></bold> Our results are compatible with a persistent age-cohort phenomenon for <italic>H. pylori</italic> prevalence, with the most pronounced decline of CagA+ strains. Nevertheless, almost one in six of the young native Dutch population remains <italic>H. pylori</italic> positive, implying that, without specific intervention, this bacterium will remain common over the coming decades.</p> </abstract>