Abstract

Background
/Aims: The incidence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)-positive ulcer appears to be decreasing recently in the Western countries, and this has been influenced by the epidemiologic changes of H. pylori infection. Therefore, we aimed to determine the trends for the frequency of H. pylori-positive peptic ulcer disease (PUD) during recent 7 years in Korea. Methods: All 1,723 patients who had an endoscopic diagnosis of PUD from 1997 to 2003 were included in this study. H. pylori was considered present if the CLO test and/or the histology and the urea breath test were positive for H. pylori. Results: H. pylori-positive ulcers were seen in 1,354/1,723 patients (78.6%). The positive rate of H. pylori infection in patients with PUD was 85.9% in 1997, 79.2% in 1999, 76.2% in 2001 and 73.1% in 2003, and this showed a decreasing annual trend (p＜0.001). H. pylori-positive PUD was more prevalent in duodenal ulcer than in gastric ulcer, and in the patients who were aged person and male. During the recent 7 years, H. pylori- positive PUD has decreased in patients with duodenal ulcer, and especially for patients younger than 60 years and in the male group. Conclusions: The frequency of H. pylori-positive PUD is possibly decreasing in the recent 7 years. Prospective, multicenter trial studies are necessary to confirm this trend and find out the cause. (Korean J Gastrointest Endosc 2006;32:1⁣8)

• Keywords: Helicobacter pylori, Peptic ulcer disease, Trend