[Epidemiology of Helicobacter pylori infection]

The endemic behaviour of Helicobacter pylori (H.p., formerly known as Campylobacter pylori) among the population of the town (57,000 inhabitants) and rural district (116,000 inhabitants) of Landshut was investigated with consideration being given to nationality, socio-economic status, housing and the local supply of drinking water. The study involved 894 patients, whose consecutive gastric biopsies were sent to the pathological institute of the Municipal Hospital in Landshut. The overall H.p. incidence was 51.1%, the average age of those infected being 56.9 years. No difference was found in the rate of infection between the municipal and rural populations (54.5%, average age 57.4 years/48.3%, average age 56.4 years). The population of foreigners revealed a significantly higher H.p.-positive rate (72.3%, average age 41.7 years) as compared with the native population (49.9%, average age 57.7 years). In the case of parts of the town whose inhabitants generally lived in smaller apartments with a lower standard of hygiene a considerable greater incidence of H.p. (up to 73.6%, average age 54.2 years) was observed as compared with areas with a low population density and detached houses (38.5%, average age 59.2 years). Considerable differences in rates of infection were established in the individual small towns and marketplaces of the rural district (between 40 and 71.4%, average age 58.6-59.1 years). No correlation was found to the supply of drinking water. Overall, the results of this study indicate a person-to-person transmission of H.p., possibly favoured by more frequent physical contact under more cramped living conditions in socio-economically disadvantaged strata of the population and by ethnological factors.