Prevalence of and risk factors for H. pylori infection in healthy children and young adults in Belgium anno 2010/2011

• Published in: Acta gastro-enterologica belgica Vol. 76; no. 4; p. 381
• Main Authors: Mana, F, Vandebosch, S, Miendje Deyi, V, Haentjens, P, Urbain, D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Belgium 01.12.2013
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Belgium - epidemiology; Child; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Helicobacter Infections - epidemiology; Helicobacter Infections - microbiology; Helicobacter pylori - isolation & purification; Humans; Male; Prevalence; Retrospective Studies; Risk Assessment - methods; Risk Factors; Time Factors; Young Adult; Belgium
• ISSN: 1784-3227

Estimation of prevalence and risk factors for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in children and young adults in Belgium. Five hundred and sixteen schoolchildren between 12 and 25 years old were tested for H. pylori infection using 13C-UBT in different regions in Belgium. A questionnaire was used to evaluate risk factors. Fifty six (11%) tested positive. In children born in Belgium, with parents from Belgium, 13 (3,2%) tested positive. In children born in a foreign country, 20 (60%) tested positive; if born in Belgium but 1 or 2 parents were from a foreign country, 15 (30%) tested positive. Differences were significant (p <0.001). In the multivariate analyses, significant risk factors were staying in a day nursery, a birthplace of child or father outside Belgium, and lower education levels of mother. In this cohort of Belgian asymptomatic children and young adults, the prevalence of H. pylori infection is 11%, ranging from 3,2% in Belgian born children with Belgian parents to 60% in children born in high prevalence countries from foreign parents. The most significant risk factor found in this study was origin.