Helicobacter pyloriSeroprevalence in Symptomatic Veterans: A Study of 7310 Patients Over 11 Years

Abstract

The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection has been decreasing in the USA, but recent data are lacking. This study evaluates the seroprevalence for anti-H. pylori antibodies in symptomatic veterans tested over the past 11 years. The same serum anti-H. pylori IgG detection system has been used at a tertiary care Veterans Affairs hospital since late 1996. Results of all tests performed from 1997 to 2007 were analyzed. Of 7310 unique patients tested, 3982 (54.5%) were positive. Seropositivity declined from 70.8% in 1997 to 48.6% in 2002, then reached a plateau around 50%. A strong birth cohort effect was present, from a seropositivity of 72.7% for the veterans born before 1920 to 22% for those born between after 1980. Despite a constant birth cohort effect, H. pylori seropositivity among symptomatic veterans leveled down at approximately 50% after declining steadily from 1997 to 2002.