Helicobacter pylori Infection in Tripoli, North Lebanon: Assessment and Risk Factors

Ghalia Khoder,Ibrahim Mahmoud,Sara Mina,Rania Harati,Christophe Burucoa,Jibran Sualeh Muhammad

doi:10.3390/biology10070599

Ghalia Khoder, Ibrahim Mahmoud + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/biology10070599

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Abstract

Simple SummaryHelicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has been classified as a Class I carcinogen by the International Agency of Research on Cancer (IARC) and has been identified as the most common etiologic agent of infection-associated cancers. Early detection and eradication of H. pylori can definitely lead to long-term healing of all H. pylori-related diseases. In Lebanon, the prevalence of H. pylori is not well documented, especially in healthy subjects. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 healthy Lebanese volunteers, including both children and adults. Interestingly, a significant correlation was found between H. pylori infection and sheesha smoking. These findings highlight the need for the development of preventive approaches and strategic indications for the appropriate management of H. pylori infections in Tripoli, North Lebanon.Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection occurs among half of the general population worldwide, with high geographic variability. Even though H. pylori is the leading cause of several gastric diseases, ranging from gastritis and peptic ulcers to gastric malignancies, such as gastric cancer and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma, most of the infections remain asymptomatic. Early detection and eradication of H. pylori can definitely prevent severe long-term gastric diseases associated with H. pylori. In Lebanon, the prevalence of H. pylori is not well documented, especially in healthy subjects. The aim of this study is to assess H. pylori infections and the associated risk factors in Tripoli, North Lebanon. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 healthy Lebanese volunteers, including both children and adults. The H. pylori stool antigens were detected using the Premier Platinum HpSA test. The socio-demographic data, lifestyle characteristics, and gastrointestinal characteristics of all participants were analyzed. Out of the 300 tested volunteer subjects, 31% were found to be positive for H. pylori. A multivariate binary logistic regression analysis for factors associated with H. pylori infection revealed a significant association between H. pylori infection and gastrointestinal disturbances, the crowding index, and occupation. A significant statistical correlation was found between sheesha smoking (p = 0.001) and H. pylori infection. These findings highlight the need for the development of preventive approaches and strategic indications for the appropriate treatment of H. pylori infections in Tripoli, North Lebanon.

Highlights

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) colonizes the stomachs of more than half of the population worldwide and is the predominant risk factor for chronic gastritis and peptic and duodenal ulcers [1]
The findings showed a significant relationship between H. pylori infection and the occupation of the participants (p < 0.033)
Our findings showed a meaningful correlation— even though it was not statistically significant—between the prevalence of H. pylori infection and age, where children aged from 6 to 15 years presented a higher H. pylori prevalence (35%) compared to younger children, who presented the lowest prevalence rate (20%)

Summary

Introduction

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) colonizes the stomachs of more than half of the population worldwide and is the predominant risk factor for chronic gastritis and peptic and duodenal ulcers [1]. The World Health Organization encourages all countries to consider screening for H. pylori to reduce the outcome of gastric cancer, especially in asymptomatic populations. Several reliable tests are available to screen for H. pylori infections, including invasive methods, such histologic evaluation of gastric biopsies, a rapid urease test, culture, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), as well as noninvasive methods, which include a urea breath test (UBT), IgG anti-H. pylori serology, and a stool antigen test (SAT) [9,10,11,12]. Several robust clinical and epidemiological studies have shown that H. pylori stool antigen tests using monoclonal antibodies are reliable for detecting H. pylori infection and are used, especially in children [16,17,18,19]

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