Seroconversion rates of Helicobacter pylori infection in Korean adults

Studies on seroconversion and its reversion rate in Korean adults with Helicobacter pylori infection are very rare. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the overall seroprevalence, seroconversion rate, and seroreversion rate of H. pylori infection in an adult population.

We performed this retrospective cohort study on healthy adults who had visited our health screening center at Asan Medical Center more than twice between January 2000 and December 2010. We reviewed the anti- H. pylori Ab IgG profiles of the enrolled people and their family members and the results of esophagogastroduodenoscopies and a self-reported questionnaire.

A total of 67,212 people were enrolled in this study. The mean follow-up duration was 4.6 years, and each participant visited the center for a mean of 3.8 visits. The overall proportions of participants demonstrating persistent seropositivity, persistent seronegativity, seroconversion, and seroreversion were 53.1%, 32.5%, 4.3%, and 10.1%, respectively. The annual seroconversion rate was 2.79%. The annual crude and spontaneous seroreversion rates of the entire study population were 3.64% and 2.42%, respectively. According to multivariate logistic regression, old age (HR = 1.015), smoking (HR = 1.216), alcohol consumption more than four times per week (HR = 1.263), marriage (HR = 2.735), and living with H. pylori-infected family members (HR = 1.525) were identified as statistically significant risk factors associated with seroconversion.

The annual seroconversion rate was 2.79% in our study population. Marriage and living with H. pylori-infected family members were important risk factors affecting seroconversion in our adult population.