Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jun 6, 2020; 8(11): 2173-2180
Published online Jun 6, 2020. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i11.2173
Epidemiological investigation of Helicobacter pylori infection in elderly people in Beijing
Hong-Ming Zhu, Bang-Yi Li, Zhe Tang, Jing She, Xue-Ying Liang, Li-Kou Dong, Mei Zhang
Hong-Ming Zhu, Bang-Yi Li, Jing She, Xue-Ying Liang, Li-Kou Dong, Mei Zhang, Department of Gastroenterology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China
Zhe Tang, National Geriatric Disease Clinical Medical Research Center, Xuanwu Hospital, Beijing 100053, China
Author contributions: Zhang M and Zhu HM designed the research; She J, Liang XY, and Dong LK performed the research; Tang Z performed data and statistical analyses; Li BY analyzed data; Zhu HM wrote the paper.
Institutional review board statement: This survey is a retrospective study, only collecting the clinical data of patients. Since it will not bring risks to patients' physiology and do not interfere with patients' treatment plan, and researchers will protect patients' information from disclosure, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University agreed to exempt this study from ethical review.
Informed consent statement: The research subjects of this survey have fully understood and agreed to the research content.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest regarding the manuscript.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
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: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Mei Zhang, MD, Chief Doctor, Occupational Physician, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 45, Changchun Street, Xuanwu District, Beijing 100053, China. zhang2955@sina.com
Received: December 27, 2019
Peer-review started: December 27, 2019
First decision: February 18, 2020
Revised: March 27, 2020
Accepted: May 13, 2020
Article in press: May 13, 2020
Published online: June 6, 2020
Processing time: 158 Days and 13.5 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

The Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection rate in China is approximately 50%. H. pylori is a pathogenic factor of peptic ulcer and chronic gastritis. In addition, H. pylori infection may also be associated with a variety of cardiovascular diseases in elderly people, such as arteriosclerosis, coronary heart disease, and cerebral infarction, having deleterious effect on their health. With the aging of the population, the disease characteristics of the elderly population have been increasingly valued by the whole society. We conducted an epidemiological survey of H. pylori infection among elderly people in Beijing to provide a basis for health management of H. pylori infection.

AIM

To understand the epidemiological characteristics of H. pylori infection in elderly people in Beijing.

METHODS

A total of 1090 elderly people aged more than 60 years from different parts of Beijing (urban and rural areas) were selected using the random cluster sampling method. Structured questionnaires were completed during home visits and the 13C-urea breath test was conducted for H. pylori detection.

RESULTS

The prevalence of H. pylori infection was 46.5% (507/1090). The infection rate in men was 51.8%, which was significantly higher than that in women (42.5%; P < 0.05). The H. pylori infection rate in illiterate people was significantly higher than that in literate persons (53.5% vs 44.8%, P < 0.05). The total infection rate of H. pylori gradually increased with age and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.01). The H. pylori infection rate in smokers was significantly higher than that in non-smokers and those who had quit smoking (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of H. pylori infection among elderly people is 46.5% and the infection rate gradually increases with age. Sex, education level, age, and smoking were determined to be H. pylori infection risk factors. The relationship of H. pylori infection with region, occupation, drinking, and diet structure needs to be further studied.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori; Epidemiologic; Elderly persons; 13C-urea breath test; Prevalence; Characteristics

Core tip:Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is globally distributed and elderly people are a high-risk population. With the ageing of society, the elderly population suffering from digestive diseases combined with H. pylori infection has accounted for a considerable proportion. We conducted an epidemiological survey of H. pylori infection among elderly people in Beijing to provide a basis for health management of H. pylori infection. This is a large elderly population and interesting associations between H. pylori and subjects’ habits have been found. This article is the latest epidemiological study on the H. pylori infection in elderly people in Beijing, China.