Seroepidemiological Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori in south of Tehran-Iran

Background: Helicobacter pylori (HP) is one of the most widespread infections in the world especially in developing countries such as Iran. Evaluation of disease in Tehran, the capital of Iran, is serious due to overpopulation and also some lacks in sanitary facilities and economic conditions.Objective: The aim of this study is the evaluation of anti-HP antibodies in patients referred to a clinical lab in Tehran.Methods: We evaluated anti-HP IgA and IgG antibodies by the ELISA method. Positive and negative results were analyzed. During this study, the total number of 593 patients that were referred to the clinical laboratories due to symptoms of the disease was examined. Serum samples of these patients were collected and used for diagnosis via ELISA kit. Data were analyzed using SPSSv.17 through Kendall's tau-b test.Results: From 593 patients, 451 have positive titer for both antibodies In addition, 87% of patients have positive titer for IgG and 47.8% were positive for IgA titer. Findings also demonstrated that between the age groups, patients above 70 had the highest percentage of positive results for IgG titer (90%), and age-groups with 50-60 had the highest percentage of positive results for IgA titer (82%). Differences between genders were not statistically significant.Conclusion: It seems that the percentage of patients suffering from this disease is rising in Tehran and even the lower age- groups are associated with this disease.   For a reliable diagnosis, evaluation of both antibodies is recommended.