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Multicenter Study
. 2019 Sep-Oct;25(5):309-318.
doi: 10.4103/sjg.SJG_531_18.

Where are we today with Helicobacter pylori infection among healthy children in Saudi Arabia?

Abdulrahman A Al-Hussaini  1 , Abdullah N Al Jurayyan  2 , Salman M Bashir  3 , Dayel Alshahrani  4
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Where are we today with Helicobacter pylori infection among healthy children in Saudi Arabia?

Abdulrahman A Al-Hussaini et al. Saudi J Gastroenterol. 2019 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

Background/aims: The available studies on Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) prevalence among healthy asymptomatic population across Saudi Arabia suffers from significant limitations. We conducted this large population-based study to estimate the H. pylori seropositivity rate among apparently healthy children in Saudi Arabia, using anti-H. pylori immunoglobulin A (IgA) and IgG serology tests, and to study the influence of H. pylori infection on growth.

Materials and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study to screen apparently healthy school aged Saudi children (aged 6-15 years), attending primary and intermediate schools in Riyadh between 2014 and 2016, for H. pylori seropositivity by checking for the presence of anti-H. pylori IgG and IgA antibodies in serum specimens.

Results: Out of 3551 serum specimens, 1413 cases tested seropositive for H. pylori organism (40%): 430 (12.2%) were both IgG and IgA positive, 212 (6%) and 771 (21.7%) cases showed isolated positivity for IgG or IgA, respectively. Male gender, older age, lower levels of socioeconomic status (SES), and family members >10 were significantly associated with H. pylori seropositivity. The proportion of participants with short stature was significantly more in the H. pylori seropositive group than the seronegative group (OR1.249, confidence interval [1.020-1.531], P= 0.033). There was no significant association between H. pylori seropositivity and gastrointestinal symptoms.

Conclusion: The prevalence of H. pylori seropositivity among apparently healthy Saudi children (40%) is intermediate compared with that in developed and developing countries. The Saudi pediatric population shows a predominant IgA-type immunological response to H. pylori infection.

Keywords: Epidemiology; Helicobacter pylori; Riyadh; prevalence; short stature; socioeconomic status.

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Conflict of interest statement

None

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
H. pylori positivity among the total study participants (=3551) according to age
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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