[Seroepidemiological study on Helicobactor pylori infection in rural adult residents].

OBJECTIVE: To study the prevalence of Helicobactor pylori (Hp) infection in rural adult residents of China and its relation to serum levels of pepsinogen I (PG I), pepsinogen II (PG II) and gastrin (GAS). METHODS: Serum levels of antibodies against Hp were determined with enzyme-liked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 1,504 residents aged over 30 in Zanhuang County of Hebei Province, and their serum levels of PG I, PG II and GAS, as well as PG I/PG II ratio, were analyzed quantitatively, with radioimmunoassay (RIA). RESULTS: Positivity for serum Hp antibody accounted for 66.4% of the rural adults in Zanhuang County, without significant sex difference. There was no significant difference in positivity for serum Hp antibody between residents in the high and low prevalent areas of gastric cancer. Serum levels of PG I, PG II and GAS were significantly higher in those with positive serum IgG anti-Hp (62.3 micrograms/L, 15.45 micrograms/L and 74.00 pg/ml, respectively) than those negative (42.1 micrograms/L, 6.40 micrograms/L and 66.00 pg/ml, respectively), all with a P-value less than 0.005, and the ratio of serum PG I to PG II levels was significantly lower in the former (4.0) than that in the latter (6.6), with P < 0.005. CONCLUSION: More than two thirds of the adult residents in Zanhuang County had infected with Hp, which could affect their serum levels of PG and GAS.