Association between Helicobacter pylori Infection and Pathological Changes in the Gastric Mucosa in Chinese Children

OBJECTIVE: H. pylori infection in children has a high prevalence worldwide. The disease can cause progressive gastric mucosal inflammation, as verified in animal models. However, data from large-scale clinical studies are limited. METHODS: We examined 1,634 Chinese children with upper gastrointestinal discomfort using endoscopy. The clinical and pathological data of the patients were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 524 (32.1%) patients were infected with H. pylori, and the prevalence of H. pylori infection increased with age. The H. pylori-infected patients exhibited a significantly higher prevalence of active inflammation (26.9% vs. 4.1%), lymphoid follicle formation (18.5% vs. 4.6%) and marked lymphocyte infiltration (19.7% vs. 5.6%). The H. pylori-infected patients also exhibited a significantly higher prevalence of moderate to marked chronic superficial gastritis (41.9% vs. 9.2%) and moderate chronic atrophic gastritis (21.7% vs. 2.6%) than the uninfected patients (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: H. pylori infection is associated with the degree of gastric mucosal inflammation and the severity of different types of chronic gastritis.