Seroepidemiology of Helieobacter pylori Infection among Preschool Children in Central Taiwan

• Main Authors: Nieh, Wen-Tung, 聶文通
• Other Authors: Lin, Ding-Bang
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 1998
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/76731173655497481017

碩士 === 中山醫學院 === 醫學研究所 === 86 === 　　Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is associated with chronic antral gastritis that is related to duodenal ulcer, gastric ulcer and probably gastric adenocarcinoma. Infection by H. pylori during childhood is considered an important risk factor for gastric carcinoma in adult life To examine the epidemiologic characteristics of H. pylori infection in central Taiwan, a community-based survey was carried out in 54 kindergartens in 10 urban townships and 10 metropolitan precincts, and 2 aboriginal townships randomly selected through stratified sampling. Serum specimens of 2,572 healthy preschool children aged 3 to 6 years old randomly sampled from study kindergartens were screened of the H. pylori antibodies by latex agglutination (LA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods A total of 212 subjects were antiodies positive, giving a prevalence of 8.2%. The overall seropositive rates were 5.1% in 3-year group, 4.2% in 4-year group, 9.4% in 5-year group, and 12.2% in 6-year group, respec-tively. The aboriginal townships had a seroprevalence (74/501=14.8%) greater than the urban townships and metropolitan precincts (138/2071=6.7%)(P<0.005). Seroprevalence was not different in boys and girls. The seroprevalence was higher for those who had a sibship size of ≧4 than for those with 0-3 siblings (P<0.005). The early childhood transmission among siblings seems an important determinant of H. pylori seropositivity in central Taiwan. The seroprevalence was higher for those who had a family size of ≧9 than for those had a family size of 2-4 and 5-8, but the trend was not statistically significant. It seems that person-to-person contact and environmental characteristics play major roles in H. pylori infection in central Taiwan. Fruther research is required to elucidate mechanisms of transmission in children and the roles of socioeconomic class, feeding practice, and personal hygiene.