Korean J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr.  2001 Apr;4(1):10-17.

Influence of Environmental Living Standards on Helicobacter pylori Infection in Korean Elementary School Children

• Kim JW
• Kim HS
• Chung KS

Abstract

PURPOSE: We measured anti-H. pylori IgG in Korean elementary school children living in Shinchon area of Seoul, Korea to evaluate the influence of environmental living standards on H. pylori infection.
METHODS
IgG antibodies to H. pylori were measured in plasma using a commercial ELISA kit (GAP IgG Helicobacter pylori, Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., Hercules, CA, USA). Information on environmental status such as place of birth, parental income, type of housing, number of persons in the household, parents' occupation, family history of peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer was obtained. Statistical analysis was done by Chi-square and logistic regression test using SPSS 7.0(TM) for Windows.
RESULTS
Study subjects consisted of 571 children, and the age distribution ranged from 6.0 to 13.6 years with a mean of 9.6+/-1.8 years. Male-to-female ratio was 1.1:1. The seropositive rates of H. pylori infection ranged from 10.4% in children aged 6 years to 30.9% in 12 year-old group, overall 16.8%. The prevalence of H. pylori infection progressively increased with age, but there was no significant difference in seropositive rates among children in different age groups (p=0.06). Seropositive rates of anti-H. pylori IgG on the basis of gender, place of birth, parental income, type of housing, parents' occupation, family history of peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer showed no statistically significant difference. Interestingly, however, seropositive rate of anti-H. pylori IgG showed statistical significance in relation to number of persons in the household (p=0.003; Odds ratio 1.50 by logistic regression test).
CONCLUSION
These results suggest that number of persons in the household is the most important factor among environmental living standards, and that risk of H. pylori infection increases by increment of 1.5 times as the number of persons in the household increases by one.

Keyword

Environment; Living standards; Helicobacter pylori; Korea; Elementary school; Children

MeSH Terms

Age Distribution
Antibodies
Child*
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Family Characteristics
Helicobacter pylori*
Helicobacter*
Housing
Humans
Immunoglobulin G
Korea
Logistic Models
Occupations
Odds Ratio
Parents
Peptic Ulcer
Plasma
Prevalence
Residence Characteristics
Seoul
Socioeconomic Factors*
Stomach Neoplasms
Antibodies
Immunoglobulin G