Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 14, 2015; 21(2): 629-636
Published online Jan 14, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i2.629
Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and atrophic gastritis in patients with dyspeptic symptoms in Myanmar
Thein Myint, Seiji Shiota, Ratha-korn Vilaichone, New Ni, Than Than Aye, Miyuki Matsuda, Trang Thi Huyen Tran, Tomohisa Uchida, Varocha Mahachai, Yoshio Yamaoka
Thein Myint, Department of Gastroenterology, Yangon General Hospital and University of Medicine (1), Yangon 11131, Myanmar
Seiji Shiota, Miyuki Matsuda, Trang Thi Huyen Tran, Yoshio Yamaoka, Department of Environmental and Preventive Medicine, Oita University Faculty of Medicine, Yufu-City, Oita 879-5593, Japan
Ratha-korn Vilaichone, Gastroenterology Unit, Department of Medicine, Thammasat University Hospital, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand
New Ni, Department of Gastroenterology, Mandalay General Hospital and University of Medicine (Mandalay), Mandalay 4802, Myanmar
Than Than Aye, Department of Gastroenterology, Thingangyun Sanpya General Hospital and University of Medicine (2), Thingangyun 11071, Myanmar
Tomohisa Uchida, Department of Molecular Pathology, Oita University Faculty of Medicine, Yufu-City, Oita 879-5593, Japan
Varocha Mahachai, GI and Liver Center, Bangkok Medical Center, Bangkok 10310, Thailand
Yoshio Yamaoka, Department of Medicine-Gastroenterology, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, United States
Author contributions: Myint T, Vilaichone RK, Yamaoka Y and Mahachai V designed the study and carried out most of the study; Myint T, Vilaichone RK, Ni N, Aye TT, Mahachai V, Uchida T and Yamaoka Y provided the collection of data; Matsuda M and Tran TTH performed experiment and interpreted data; Vilaichone RK, Yamaoka Y and Shiota S wrote the manuscript, analyzed and interpreted data; Yamaoka Y approved the version to be published.
Supported by Grants from the National Institutes of Health, No. DK62813 (To Yamaoka Y); Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, No. 22390085, No. 22659087, No. 24406015, No. 24659200 (To Yamaoka Y) and No. 23790798 (To Shiota S); Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Institutional Program for Young Researcher Overseas Visits and the Strategic Funds for the Promotion of Science and Technology from Japan Science and Technology Agency
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (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: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Yoshio Yamaoka, MD, PhD, Department of Environmental and Preventive Medicine, Oita University Faculty of Medicine, 1-1 Idaigaoka, Hasama-machi, Yufu-City, Oita 879-5593, Japan. yyamaoka@oita-u.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-97-5865740 Fax: +81-97-5865749
Received: March 21, 2014
Peer-review started: March 23, 2014
First decision: April 2, 2014
Revised: May 12, 2014
Accepted: July 22, 2014
Article in press: July 22, 2014
Published online: January 14, 2015
Abstract

AIM: To survey the detailed analyses for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and gastric mucosal status in Myanmar.

METHODS: A total of 252 volunteers with dyspeptic symptoms (155 female and 97 male; mean age of 43.6 ± 14.2 years) was participated in Yangon and Mandalay. The status of H. pylori infection was determined based on 5 different tests including rapid urease test, culture, histology, immunohistochemistry and serology. Histological scores were evaluated according to the update Sydney system and the Operative Link for Gastritis Assessment system. Pepsinogen (PG) I and PG II were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.

RESULTS: The overall prevalence of H. pylori infection was 48.0%. There was no relationship between age and infection rate. Even in young group (less than 29 years old), the H. pylori infection rate was relatively high (41.9%). The prevalence of H. pylori infection was significantly higher in Yangon than that of Mandalay. H. pylori infection was significantly associated with the presence of gastric mucosal atrophy. All 7 subjects with peptic ulcer were infected with H. pylori. Although H. pylori-positive subjects showed stronger gastritis than H. pylori-negative subjects, most cases had mild gastritis.

CONCLUSION: We revealed the prevalence of H. pylori infection in patients with dyspeptic symptoms in Myanmar. The H. pylori infection was a risk factor for peptic ulcer and stronger gastritis.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori, Myanmar, Pepsinogen, Atrophy

Core tip: The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in Myanmar has not been elucidated. Our study revealed that the overall prevalence of H. pylori infection was 48.0% in patients with dyspeptic symptoms. Even among young group (less than 29 years old), the H. pylori infection rate was relatively high (41.9%). Nevertheless, most cases showed mild gastritis, which suggests that the moderate of the incidence of gastric cancer might be attributed to the mild atrophy. All 7 subjects with peptic ulcer were infected with H. pylori.