Trends in the prevalence of atrophic gastritis and Helicobacter pylori infection over a 10‑year period in Japan: The ROAD study 2005‑2015

Izumi Inoue; Noriko Yoshimura; Toshiko Iidaka; Chiaki Horii; Shigeyuki Muraki; Hiroyuki Oka; Hiroshi Kawaguchi; Toru Akune; Takao Maekita; Kanae Mure; Kozo Nakamura; Sakae Tanaka; Masao Ichinose

doi:10.3892/mco.2023.2649

Trends in the prevalence of atrophic gastritis and Helicobacter pylori infection over a 10‑year period in Japan: The ROAD study 2005‑2015

Mol Clin Oncol. 2023 May 19;19(1):53. doi: 10.3892/mco.2023.2649. eCollection 2023 Jul.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Health Service Center, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo 108-8477, Japan.
² Department of Prevention Medicine for Locomotive Organ Disorders, 22nd Century Medical and Research Center, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan.
³ Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Sensory and Motor System Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan.
⁴ Department of Medical Research and Management for Musculoskeletal Pain, 22nd Century Medical and Research Center, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan.
⁵ Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Tokyo Neurological Center, Tokyo 105-0001, Japan.
⁶ Department of Orthopedic Surgery, National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, Saitama 359-0042, Japan.
⁷ Department of Gastroenterology, School of Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama 641-0012, Japan.
⁸ Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama 641-0012, Japan.
⁹ Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Towa Hospital, Tokyo 120-0003, Japan.

Abstract

Few large population-based studies have examined the prevalence of atrophic gastritis (AG) and Helicobacter pylori infection in Japan. The purpose of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of AG and H. pylori infection by age, in addition to investigating their change rates from 2005 to 2016 in Japan using data from a large population-based cohort. A total of 3,596 participants [1,690 in the baseline survey (2005-2006) and 1,906 at the fourth survey (2015-2016)] aged 18 to 97 years were included in the cohort. The prevalence of AG and H. pylori infection were examined at baseline and in the fourth survey based on serological tests for the H. pylori antibody titer and pepsinogen levels. The prevalence of AG and H. pylori infection were 40.1% (men, 44.1%; women, 38.0%) and 52.2% (men, 54.8%; women, 50.8%), respectively, at baseline. AG seropositivity rates showed a significant decrease from 40.1 to 25.8% in 10 years. H. pylori seropositivity rates decreased significantly from 52.2 to 35.5% in 10 years. Stratified for age, the prevalence of AG showed an increasing trend with age, whereas the prevalence of H. pylori infection increased with aging, except for in the elderly group, showing an inverted U-shaped association. In this population-based, cross-sectional study with a 10-year interval survey, the prevalence of AG and H. pylori infection decreased significantly. This change may influence the prevalence of H. pylori-related diseases, including extra-gastric disorders associated with H. pylori-induced systemic subclinical inflammation and hypochlorhydria, such as colorectal neoplasia and arteriosclerosis.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori; atrophic gastritis; cohort; pepsinogen; prevalence.

Grants and funding

Funding: This work was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (grant no. 18K10063 to Izumi Inoue).