Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jun 7, 2025; 31(21): 106033
Published online Jun 7, 2025. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i21.106033
Prevalence and risk factors of Helicobacter pylori infection in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region: A cross-sectional study of all age groups
Qi Jiang, Wei-Dong Liu, Wen-Jia Hui, Wen-Jie Kong, Yan Feng, Aihemaijiang Kuerbanjiang, Xiao Ling Huang, Feng Gao
Qi Jiang, Wei-Dong Liu, Wen-Jia Hui, Wen-Jie Kong, Yan Feng, Aihemaijiang Kuerbanjiang, Xiao Ling Huang, Feng Gao, Department of Gastroenterology, People’s Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Urumqi 830001, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China
Co-first authors: Qi Jiang and Wei-Dong Liu.
Author contributions: Jiang Q, Liu WD, Hui WJ, Kong WJ, and Gao F conceived the experiment; Huang XL, Feng Y, and Kuerbanjiang A conducted the experiment and analyzed the results; Jiang Q, Liu WD, and Hui WJ wrote the manuscript; Gao F supervised the project, administered it, and acquired funding; All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Supported by Central Government Guide Local Science and Technology Development Special Fund Project, No. ZYYD2024JD11 and No. ZYYD2022A06; and Natural Science Foundation of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, No. 2024D01C76.
Institutional review board statement: This study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki, and was approved by the Ethics Committee of People’s Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, No. KY2022060173.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from each participant.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
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.
Data sharing statement: The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request at xjgf@sina.com.
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: Feng Gao, PhD, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, People’s Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, No. 91 Tianchi Road, Tianshan District, Urumqi 830001, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. xjgf@sina.com
Received: February 17, 2025
Revised: April 14, 2025
Accepted: May 23, 2025
Published online: June 7, 2025
Processing time: 112 Days and 17.8 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection rates have been changing with different populations and geographic areas. Currently, there is still a lack of comprehensive survey data on the H. pylori infection rate and its risk factors in the natural population of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

AIM

To understand the H. pylori infection and risk factors in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region for the prevention and control strategies.

METHODS

This study comprehensively collected the survey data on H. pylori infection in 15 regions of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region by using the method of stratified random cluster sampling. A total of 4361 individuals from the general population were selected as research subjects, and questionnaire surveys and blood tests for H. pylori antibodies were conducted.

RESULTS

The overall H. pylori infection rate in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was 70.79% (3087/4361). The H. pylori infection rate showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing with the increase of age, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The analysis of the H. pylori infection rates among different ethnic groups showed that the infection rates of ethnic minorities such as Uyghur, Kirgiz, and Tajik were significantly higher than those of Han and Hui ethnic groups, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.01). Multivariate analysis showed that altitude, regular consumption of beef, mutton, dried nuts, barbecue foods, and drinking river water were positively correlated with the H. pylori infection rate.

CONCLUSION

This study indicates that the overall H. pylori infection rate in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is relatively high, with obvious regional and ethnic differences, which are closely related to the sanitation conditions and eating habits.

Keywords: Uygur Autonomous Region; Helicobacter pylori; Infection rate; Risk factors; Natural population

Core Tip: The infection rate of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in China is approximately 49.6%, and there are significant differences in the infection rates among different regions. In-depth exploration of the infection rate of H. pylori and its potential risk factors in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is of crucial reference value for formulating scientific and effective prevention and control strategies against H. pylori infection. Studies have shown that the infection rate of H. pylori in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is at a high level, with obvious regional and ethnic differences, and it is closely related to the local sanitation conditions and residents' eating habits.