++Helicobacter pylori infection in North Lebanon

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection in North Lebanon and to compare it with published figures. The study period was from September 1 1996 to March 31 1998. We tested 349 patients for HP, using biopsy tissue obtained by esophagoduodenoscopy and the modified urease technique. One hundred and seventy-nine of these patients were men and 170 were women. The mean age of the subjects was 39.3 years (range: 20 to 78 years). The prevalence of HP was 25.9% in individuals with normal endoscopy results (n = 104), 60.8% in patients with duodenal ulcer and 72% in patients with congestive antritis. The prevalence of HP in patients with erosive antritis was similar to that in individuals with normal endoscopy results. The prevalence of HP increased with age in the individuals with pathological endoscopic results but no such relationship was observed in individuals with normal endoscopy results. Our results show that the prevalence of HP in our patients is similar to that of industrialized countries. As age affected the prevalence of HP only in subjects with pathological endoscopy results, it is probably the extent of lesions caused by HP, rather than the infection itself, that increases with age.