Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Dec 21, 2024; 30(47): 5018-5031
Published online Dec 21, 2024. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i47.5018
Prevalence and associated risk factors of Helicobacter pylori infection in community households in Lanzhou city
Ju-Kun Zhou, Ya Zheng, Yu-Ping Wang, Rui Ji
Ju-Kun Zhou, The First Clinical Medical College, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu Province, China
Ju-Kun Zhou, Ya Zheng, Yu-Ping Wang, Rui Ji, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu Province, China
Ju-Kun Zhou, Ya Zheng, Yu-Ping Wang, Rui Ji, Gansu Province Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu Province, China
Co-corresponding authors: Rui Ji and Ya Zheng.
Author contributions: Zhou JK, Zheng Y, Wang YP, and Ji R conceived and designed the study; Zhou JK and Zheng Y searched and screened related literature; Zhou JK and Ji R performed data collection; Wang YP and Ji R performed a quality assessment; Zhou JK, Zheng Y, and Ji R analyzed the data and explained the outcomes; all of the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
Supported by The Lanzhou Talent Innovation and Entrepreneurship Project, China, No. 2019-RC-33; and The Medical Innovation and Development Project of Lanzhou University, China, No. lzuyxcx-2022-184.
Institutional review board statement: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the First Hospital of Lanzhou University, No. LDYYLL2021-146.
Informed consent statement: All study participants or their legal guardians provided informed written consent about personal and medical data collection prior to study enrolment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest in this work.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Rui Ji, PhD, Chief Doctor, Full Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Donggang West Road, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu Province, China. jir@lzu.edu.cn
Received: May 24, 2024
Revised: September 12, 2024
Accepted: September 23, 2024
Published online: December 21, 2024
Processing time: 185 Days and 19.1 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection exhibits a familial clustering phenomenon.

AIM

To investigate the prevalence of H. pylori infection, identify associated factors, and analyze patterns of transmission within families residing in the community.

METHODS

From July 2021 to September 2021, a total of 191 families (519 people) in two randomly chosen community health service centers in the Chengguan District of Lanzhou in Gansu Province, were recruited to fill out questionnaires and tested for H. pylori infection. Individuals were followed up again from April 2023 and June 2023 to test for H. pylori infection. The relationship between variables and H. pylori infection was analyzed using logistic regression and generalized linear mixed models.

RESULTS

In 2021, the individual-based H. pylori infection rate was found to be 47.0% (244/519), which decreased to 38.1% (177/464) in 2023. Additionally, the rate of individual-based H. pylori new infection was 22.8% (55/241). The family-based H. pylori infection rate in 2021 was 76.9% (147/191), which decreased to 67.1% (116/173) in 2023, and the rate of family-based H. pylori new infection was 38.6% (17/44). Individual H. pylori infection was positively correlated with age, body mass index (BMI), eating food that was excessively hot, frequent acid reflux, bloating, and halitosis symptoms, and negatively correlated with family size and nut consumption. New individual H. pylori infection was positively correlated with BMI, other types of family structures, drinking purified water, and frequent heartburn symptoms, while negatively correlated with the use of refrigerators and following a regular eating schedule. A larger living area was an independent protective factor for H. pylori infection in households. Frequently consuming excessively hot food and symptoms of halitosis were independent risk factors for H. pylori infection in individuals; frequent consumption of nuts was an independent protective factor for H. pylori infection. Other types of family structure, drinking purified water, and frequent heartburn symptoms were independent risk factors for new individual H. pylori infection; the use of a refrigerator was an independent protective factor for new H. pylori infections.

CONCLUSION

The household H. pylori infection rate in Lanzhou is relatively high and linked to socio-demographic factors and lifestyles. Eradication efforts and control of related risk factors are recommended in the general population.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori; Household; China; Prevalence; Risk factors

Core Tip: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is characterized by family cluster infection. However, studies investigating the status of H. pylori infection and patterns of intra-household transmission are scarce. In our study, the individual H. pylori infection rate in the Chengguan District of Lanzhou was found to have decreased from 47.0% in 2021 to 38.1% in 2023. The rate of new individual infection is currently 22.8%. Similarly, the proportion of households with at least one infected member has decreased from 76.9% in 2021 to 67.1% in 2023. These results suggest that family-based prevention and treatment are more conducive to the management of H. pylori.