Epidemiological Characteristics of Helicobacter pylori Infection in Children in Northeast Romania

Abstract

(1) Background: Although gastritis has been associated with multiple etiologies, in pediatrics the main etiology is idiopathic. Many studies have reported mild-to-severe gastritis Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) as an etiological factor. We evaluated the distribution of the infection with H. pylori by age, gender and place of living; (2) Methods: A retrospective study was conducted over a period of 3 years, over a cohort of 1757 patients of both sexes, aged between 1 and 18 years, admitted to a regional gastroenterology center in Iasi, Romania, with clinical signs of gastritis which underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. The research was based on the analysis of data from patient observation charts and hospital discharge tickets, as well as endoscopy result registers; (3) Results: Out of the 1757 children, in 30.8% of cases the H. pylori infection was present. Out of them, 26.8% were males and 73.2% females. The average age of children with an H. pylori infection was higher (14.1 + 2.8 DS), compared with children without H. pylori (12.8 + 3.7 SD), an average difference of 1.3 years (95% confidence interval 0.96 to 1.66; p < 0.001). By place of living, children with H. pylori infection were from urban areas at 24.7% and from rural areas at 75.3%; (4) Conclusions: H. pylori infection incidence is still high in children, especially in teenagers, so extensive prevention and treatment programs are needed.