Prevalence and Risk Factors of H. pylori from Dyspeptic Patients in Northwest Ethiopia: A Hospital Based Cross-sectional Study

Background: Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and infectionwith H. pylori is considered essential for its development. Helicobacter pylori infects more than 50% of theworld’s population with higher prevalence in developing countries than developed countries. The prevalence ofH. pylori varies in different societies and geographical locations. The objectives of this study were to estimate theseroprevalence and determine the risk factors of H. pylori infection in dyspeptic patents in Ethiopia. Materialsand
Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 209 dyspeptic patients was carried out from February 15 to April30, 2013. Five to ten ml venous blood was collected from each dyspeptic patient and analyzed for detection ofHelicobacter pylori immunoglobulin (IgG). The socio-demographic characteristic, hygienic practices, alcoholconsumption, sources of drinking water and types of latrine were also obtained with a pre-tested questionnaire.
Results: The overall seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori was 72.2%. There was statistically significant differencein the prevalence of H. pylori among age groups (p=0.02). Seroprevalence of H. pylori was higher in those patientswho used unprotected surface water (76.4%) than those with access to piped tap water (65.9%). There was alsostatistically significant differences in prevalence of H. pylori with the habit of hand washing before meal (p=0.01)and alcohol consumption (p=0.001).
Conclusions: The prevalence of H. pylori was high in the study area andincreased with age of dyspeptic patients. Alcohol consumption and the type of drinking water are risk factorsthat have associations with the prevalence of H. pylori. Molecular epidemiological techniques can show a truepicture of H. pylori and improvement in the drinking water quality is recommended.