Objective: To assess the seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori among the residents of a hospital for people with severe learning difficulties.
Design: Retrospective analysis of stored sera from the hospital residents and control sera from the local, non-residential population.
Methods: H. pylori immunoglobulin G antibody was measured in 424 hospital residents using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, taking an antibody level of > 10 units/ml as evidence of H. pylori infection. The results were compared with 267 age- and sex-matched controls.
Results: Seropositivity rates were significantly higher in the hospital residents than in controls for all ages. This was most marked among those under 40 years of age (87 versus 24% H. pylori-positive for residents and controls, respectively; P < 0.001). The overall seropositivity rates were 87 and 43% for residents and controls, respectively (P < 0.001).
Conclusions: This English study of H. pylori seroprevalence in an institutionalized population is the largest to date and confirms the very high seropositivity rates found by previous studies in Australia. Our findings may have significance for the future health of these patients and for the possible modes of transmission of H. pylori.