Helicobacter pylori and the birth cohort effect: evidence of a continuous decrease of infection rates in childhood.

R Roosendaal; E J Kuipers; J Buitenwerf; C van Uffelen; S G Meuwissen; G J van Kamp; C M Vandenbroucke-Grauls

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PubMed · 9317067

Helicobacter pylori and the birth cohort effect: evidence of a continuous decrease of infection rates in childhood.

R Roosendaal·E J Kuipers·J Buitenwerf·C van Uffelen·S G Meuwissen·G J van Kamp·C M Vandenbroucke-Grauls

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the decrease in rate of Helicobacter pylori infection in subsequent birth cohorts has continued during the last decades. METHODS: Determination by ELISA of IgG H. pylori antibodies in 314 serum samples from Dutch children (age 6-8 yr, n = 154) and young adolescents (age 12-15 yr, n = 160), collected in 1978 and 1993. RESULTS: The prevalence of H. pylori declined from 19% to 9% at age 6-8 yr and from 23% to 11% at age 12-15 yr. For the whole study population, a decline from 21% to 10% (p = 0.01) was observed between 1978 and 1993. On the basis of these data and an incidence of infection with H. pylori of 0.3% per year during the same period, a model for both past and future prevalence rates of H. pylori in the Dutch population was calculated. The outcome demonstrates a decrease from more than 50% around World War II to less than 20% for the whole population around year 2040. CONCLUSIONS: H. pylori infection rates in childhood have continued to decline until recent decades, demonstrating a persistent birth cohort effect. This decline will result in a very low prevalence of H. pylori infection in the Dutch population during the next decades, becoming even lower as the observed decline in children and young adolescents continues.

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Adolescent Antibodies, Bacterial Child Cohort Effect Cohort Studies Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay Forecasting Helicobacter Infections Helicobacter pylori Humans Immunoglobulin G Incidence Netherlands Outcome Assessment, Health Care Population Surveillance Prevalence Journal Article

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R Roosendaal, E J Kuipers, J Buitenwerf, C van Uffelen, S G Meuwissen, G J van Kamp, C M Vandenbroucke-Grauls. 1997. Helicobacter pylori and the birth cohort effect: evidence of a continuous decrease of infection rates in childhood.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9317067/

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