Helicobacter pylori Seroprevalence and Its Associations with Sociodemographic Characteristics, Environmental Factors, and Gastrointestinal Complaints: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Adult Population of Kaunas City, Lithuania
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Setting and Ethics
2.2. Study Subjects
2.3. Data Collection and Variables
2.4. H. pylori IgG Antibodies Testing
2.5. Exclusion from Further Analysis
2.6. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Demographic and Socioeconomic Data
3.2. Seroprevalence of H. pylori IgG Antibodies
3.3. Seroprevalence of H. pylori Antibodies in Relation to the Analyzed Independent Factors
3.4. History of Previous H. pylori Antibodies Testing and Eradication
3.5. Dyspeptic Symptoms and Their Association with H. pylori Seroprevalence
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
H. pylori | Helicobacter pylori |
GC | Gastric cancer |
PUD | Peptic ulcer disease |
IgG | Immunoglobulin G |
IARC | International Agency for Research on Cancer |
GLOBOCAN | Global Cancer Observatory |
95% CI | 95% confidence interval |
OR | Odds ratio |
References
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Characteristics | Males | Females | Total | p-Value Between Males and Females | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | n | % | ||
Age group (years) | |||||||
25–34 | 101 | 19.2 | 78 | 15.0 | 179 | 17.1 | 0.062 |
35–44 | 149 | 28.3 | 128 | 24.6 | 277 | 26.5 | |
45–54 | 124 | 23.6 | 149 | 28.7 | 273 | 26.1 | |
55–69 | 152 | 28.9 | 165 | 31.7 | 317 | 30.3 | |
Level of education | |||||||
Basic | 194 | 37.0 | 130 | 25.1 | 334 | 31.1 | <0.001 |
Intermediate | 40 | 7.6 | 63 | 12.2 | 103 | 9.9 | |
Advanced | 291 | 55.4 | 325 | 62.7 | 616 | 59.0 | |
Place of residence in childhood | |||||||
Urban | 405 | 77.1 | 386 | 74.5 | 791 | 75.8 | 0.322 |
Rural | 120 | 22.9 | 132 | 25.5 | 252 | 24.2 | |
Drinking water from municipal supply in childhood | |||||||
Yes | 395 | 75.2 | 378 | 73.0 | 773 | 74.1 | 0.404 |
No | 130 | 24.8 | 140 | 27.0 | 270 | 25.9 | |
Hot tap water in childhood | |||||||
Yes | 398 | 75.8 | 370 | 71.4 | 768 | 73.6 | 0.108 |
No | 127 | 24.2 | 148 | 28.6 | 275 | 26.4 | |
Number of household members in childhood | |||||||
2–3 | 112 | 21.3 | 101 | 19.5 | 213 | 20.4 | 0.044 |
4 | 266 | 50.6 | 234 | 45.2 | 500 | 47.9 | |
5 and more | 148 | 28.1 | 183 | 35.3 | 331 | 31.7 |
Age Groups | Males (n = 472) | Females (n = 442) | Total (n = 914) | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HP-Negative | HP-Positive | HP-Negative | HP-Positive | HP-Negative | HP-Positive | |||||||
n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | |
25–34 | 48 | 52.2 a | 44 | 47.8 a | 37 | 52.1 c | 34 | 47.9 c | 85 | 52.1 c | 78 | 47.9 c |
35–44 | 50 | 37.9 b | 82 | 62.1 b | 39 | 35.1 | 72 | 64.9 | 89 | 36.6 | 154 | 63.4 |
45–54 | 26 | 23.4 b | 85 | 76.6 b | 39 | 32.8 | 80 | 67.2 | 65 | 28.3 | 165 | 71.7 |
55–69 | 27 | 19.7 * | 110 | 80.3 * | 56 | 39.7 | 85 | 60.3 | 83 | 29.9 | 195 | 70.1 |
Total non-standardized | 151 | 32.0 * | 321 | 68.0 * | 171 | 38.7 | 271 | 61.3 | 322 | 35.2 | 592 | 64.8 |
Total age-standardized, % (95% CI) | 33.7 (27.8–36.2) | 66.3 (62.3–70.8) | 39.8 (34.2–43.2) | 60.2 (55.8–65.0) | 36.9 (32.1–38.3) | 63.1 (60.4–66.7) |
Characteristics | HP+ | HP− | p-Value | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | ||
Education | |||||
Basic | 216 | 73.2 a | 79 | 26.8 | <0.001 |
Intermediate | 49 | 57.6 | 36 | 42.4 | |
Advanced | 325 | 61.1 | 207 | 38.9 | |
Childhood living environment | |||||
Urban | 442 | 63.5 | 254 | 36.5 | 0.178 |
Rural | 148 | 68.5 | 68 | 31.5 | |
Drinking water sourced from a municipal supply | |||||
Yes | 419 | 63.3 | 254 | 37.7 | 0.010 |
No | 171 | 71.5 | 68 | 28.5 | |
Childhood access to hot water | |||||
Yes | 418 | 62.4 | 252 | 37.6 | 0.015 |
No | 172 | 71.1 | 70 | 28.9 | |
Number of household members in childhood | |||||
2–3 | 112 | 60.9 | 72 | 39.1 | 0.353 |
4 | 283 | 64.6 | 155 | 35.4 | |
5 and more | 196 | 67.4 | 95 | 32.6 |
Factors | Univariable Analysis | Multivariable Analysis | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OR | 95% CI | p-Value | OR | 95% CI | p-Value | |
Sex | ||||||
Females | 1 | 1 | ||||
Males | 1.34 | 1.02–1.76 | 0.034 | 1.32 | 1.0–1.75 | 0.049 |
Age * | 1.03 | 1.02–1.04 | <0.001 | 1.03 | 1.01–1.04 | <0.001 |
Education | ||||||
Basic | 1 | 1 | ||||
Intermediate | 0.50 | 0.30–0.82 | 0.006 | 0.45 | 0.27–0.75 | 0.002 |
Advanced | 0.57 | 0.42–0.78 | <0.001 | 0.65 | 0.47–0.89 | 0.008 |
Childhood living environment | ||||||
Urban | 1 | 1 | ||||
Rural | 1.25 | 0.90–1.73 | 0.179 | 1.03 | 0.72–1.48 | 0.876 |
Drinking water sourced from a municipal supply | ||||||
Yes | 1 | 1 | ||||
No | 1.48 | 1.08–2.04 | 0.016 | 1.20 | 0.64–1.57 | 0.399 |
Childhood access to hot water | ||||||
Yes | 1 | 1 | ||||
No | 1.52 | 1.11–2.10 | 0.010 | 0.98 | 0.64–1.51 | 0.931 |
History of H. pylori Serologic Testing | Males | Females | Total | p-Value Between Males and Females | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | n | % | ||
Not tested | 395 | 75.2 | 342 | 65.8 | 737 | 70.5 | <0.001 |
Tested—negative | 47 | 9.0 | 74 | 14.2 | 121 | 11.6 | |
Tested—positive | 61 | 11.6 | 96 | 18.5 | 157 | 15.0 | |
Unknown | 22 | 4.2 | 8 | 1.5 | 30 | 2.9 | |
Total | 525 | 100 | 520 | 100 | 1046 | 100 |
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© 2025 by the authors. Published by MDPI on behalf of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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Jonaitis, P.; Petkeviciene, J.; Salteniene, V.; Ciupkeviciene, E.; Jonaitis, L.; Kriukas, M.; Luksiene, D.; Lesauskaite, V.; Kupcinskas, J.; Kupcinskas, L. Helicobacter pylori Seroprevalence and Its Associations with Sociodemographic Characteristics, Environmental Factors, and Gastrointestinal Complaints: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Adult Population of Kaunas City, Lithuania. Medicina 2025, 61, 1049. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina61061049
Jonaitis P, Petkeviciene J, Salteniene V, Ciupkeviciene E, Jonaitis L, Kriukas M, Luksiene D, Lesauskaite V, Kupcinskas J, Kupcinskas L. Helicobacter pylori Seroprevalence and Its Associations with Sociodemographic Characteristics, Environmental Factors, and Gastrointestinal Complaints: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Adult Population of Kaunas City, Lithuania. Medicina. 2025; 61(6):1049. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina61061049
Chicago/Turabian StyleJonaitis, Paulius, Janina Petkeviciene, Violeta Salteniene, Egle Ciupkeviciene, Laimas Jonaitis, Mantas Kriukas, Dalia Luksiene, Vaiva Lesauskaite, Juozas Kupcinskas, and Limas Kupcinskas. 2025. "Helicobacter pylori Seroprevalence and Its Associations with Sociodemographic Characteristics, Environmental Factors, and Gastrointestinal Complaints: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Adult Population of Kaunas City, Lithuania" Medicina 61, no. 6: 1049. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina61061049
APA StyleJonaitis, P., Petkeviciene, J., Salteniene, V., Ciupkeviciene, E., Jonaitis, L., Kriukas, M., Luksiene, D., Lesauskaite, V., Kupcinskas, J., & Kupcinskas, L. (2025). Helicobacter pylori Seroprevalence and Its Associations with Sociodemographic Characteristics, Environmental Factors, and Gastrointestinal Complaints: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Adult Population of Kaunas City, Lithuania. Medicina, 61(6), 1049. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina61061049