IMAJ | volume 25
Journal 11, November 2023
pages: 729-734
1 Clalit Health Services, Lod, Israel
2 Division of Gastroenterology, Rabin Medical Center (Beilinson Campus), Petah Tikva, Israel
3 Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
Summary
Background:
Helicobacter pylori (
H. pylori) prevalence varies according to both geographical region and ethnicity. The interplay between these two factors has been poorly studied.
Objectives:
To determine the positivity rate of
H.
pylori infection among Jewish and Arab patients who live in a mixed urban center in Israel.
Methods:
Between November 2009 and September 2014, dyspeptic patients referred to a gastroenterology clinic in Lod, Israel, were enrolled in a prospective study. For each patient, clinical and epidemiological data were collected and a noninvasive or endoscopy-based test for
H.
pylori was performed.
Results:
A total of 429 consecutive patients (322 Jewish and 107 Arabs), mean age 45 years (range 15–91 years) were included; 130 males. Overall positivity for
H. pylori was 42.4% (182/429)
. The positivity rate of
H. pylori was 38.8% for Jews (125/322) and 53.2% for Arabs (57/107) in Lod (
P < 0.01). When immigrants were excluded, the difference in
H. pylori positivity did not reach statistical significance (45.0% [77/171] vs. 53.2% [57/107],
P = 0.217
, in Jews and Arabs, respectively).
Conclusions:
H.
pylori infection was more common in Arabs that Jews in the mixed city of Lod, Israel. This finding may suggest that non-environmental factors were responsible for the observed difference in
H. pylori positivity.