Skip to main content
PMC home page
Japanese Journal of Cancer Research : Gann logoLink to Japanese Journal of Cancer Research : Gann
. 2001 Nov;92(11):1150–1156. doi: 10.1111/j.1349-7006.2001.tb02134.x

Helicobacter pylori Seropositivity among 963 Japanese Brazilians According to Sex, Age, Generation, and Lifestyle Factors

Lucy S Ito 1,5, Sueli M Oba 5,6, Nobuyuki Hamajima 2,✉, Suely K N Marie 5,6, Miyuki Uno 3,5, Samuel K Shinjo 5,6, Aya Kino 5, Flávia Lavilla 5, Manami Inoue 2, Kazuo Tajima 2, Suketami Tominaga 4
PMCID: PMC5926653  PMID: 11714438

Abstract

Seropositivity of anti–Helicobacter pylori antibody (HP+) was examined among Japanese Brazilians. The study was announced through 18 Japanese community culture associations in São Paulo, Curitiba, Mogi das Cruzes, and Mirandopolis in 2001. Among 969 participants, 963 individuals aged 33–69 years were analyzed. The overall HP+% was 48.1% (95% confidence interval, 44.9–51.3%). There was no difference in HP+% between 399 males and 564 females (49.6% and 47.0%, respectively). The HP+% increased with age; 35.3% for those aged 33–39 years, 46.2% for those aged 40–49 years, 46.5% for those aged 50–59 years, and 56.9% for those aged 60–69 years, but no differences were observed among the generations (Issei, Nisei, and Sansei) for each 10–year age group. Mogi das Cruzes, a rural area, showed a higher HP+%. Length of education was inversely associated with the positivity; the odds ratio (OR) relative to those with eight years or less of schooling was 0.61 (0.42–0.89) for those with 12 years or more. The associations with smoking and alcohol drinking were not significant. Fruit intake was associated with the HP+%; the OR relative to everyday intake was 1.38 (1.05–1.83) for less frequent intake, while intake frequencies of green tea, miso soup, and pickled vegetables (tsukemono) were not. Multivariate analysis including sex, 10–year age group, residence, education, and fruit intake showed that all factors except sex were significant. This is the largest study of HP infection among Japanese Brazilians, and the results indicated a similar pattern of age–specific infection rate to that for Japanese in Japan.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori, Seropositivity, Japanese Brazilians, Lifestyle factors

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (70.5 KB).

REFERENCES

  • 1. ) Labenz , J. and Borsch , G.Evidence for the essential role of Helicobacter pylori in gastric ulcer disease . Gut , 35 , 19 – 22 ( 1994. ). [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 2. ) Kuippers , E. J. , Uyterlinde , A. M. , Pena , A. S. , Roosendaal , R. , Pals , G. , Nelis , G. F. , Festen , H. P. M. and Meuwissen , S. G. M.Long–term sequelae of Helicobacter pylori gastritis . Lancet , 345 , 1525 – 1528 ( 1995. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 3. ) Munoz , N.Is Helicobacter pylori a cause of gastric cancer? An appraisal of the seroepidemiological evidence . Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. , 3 , 445 – 451 ( 1994. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 4. ) Dunn , B. E. , Cohen , H. and Blaser , M. J.Helicobacter pylori . Clin. Microbiol. Rev. , 10 , 720 – 741 ( 1997. ). [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 5. ) Brown , L. M.Helicobacter pylori: epidemiology and routes of transmission . Epidemiol. Rev. , 22 , 283 – 297 ( 2000. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 6. ) Goodman , K. and Correa , P.The transmission of Helicobacter pylori. A critical review of the evidence . Int. J. Epidemiol. , 24 , 875 – 887 ( 1995. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 7. ) Cave , D. R.How is Helicobacter pylori transmitted ? Gas–troenterology , 113 , S9 – S14 ( 1997. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 8. ) Webb , P. M. , Knight , T. , Greaves , S. , Wilson , A. , Newell , D. G. , Elder , J. and Forman , D.Relation between infection with Helicobacter pylori and living conditions in childhood: evidence for person to person transmission in early life . Br. Med. J. , 308 , 750 – 753 ( 1994. ). [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 9. ) Banatvala , N. , Mayo , K. , Megraud , F. , Jennings , R. , Deeks , J. J. and Feldman , R. A.The cohort effect and Helicobacter pylori . J. Infect. Dis. , 168 , 219 – 221 ( 1993. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 10. ) Tsugane , S. , Fahey , M. T. , Hamada , G. S. , Kabuto , M. and Miyakawa , V. Y.Helicobacter pylori infection and atrophic gastritis in middle‐aged Japanese residents of São Paulo and Lima . Int. J. Epidemiol. , 28 , 577 – 582 ( 1999. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 11. ) Evans , D. J. , Evans , D. G. , Graham , D. Y. and Klein , P. D.A sensitive and specific serologic test for detection of Campylobacter pylori infection . Gastroenterology , 96 , 1004 – 1008 ( 1989. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 12. ) Matsuo , K. , Hamajima , N. , Tominaga , S. , Suzuki , T. , Nakamura , T. , Matsuura , A.and Kitayama, K. Helicobacter pylori IgG antibody test established in the United States showed a substantial lower sensitivity for Japanese population . Am. J. Gastroenterol. , 95 , 1597 – 1598 ( 2000. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 13. ) Tsugane , T. , Gotlieb , S. L. D. , Laurenti , R. , De Souza , J. M. P. and Watanabe , S.Cancer mortality among Japanese residents of the city of São Paulo, Brazil . Int. J. Cancer , 45 , 436 – 439 ( 1990. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 14. ) Tsugane , T. , de Souza , J. M. P. , Costa , M. L. , Jr. , Mirra , A. P. , Gotlieb , S. L. D. , Laurenti , R. and Watanabe , S.Cancer incidence rates among Japanese immigrants in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, 1969–78 . Cancer Causes Control , 1 , 189 – 193 ( 1990. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 15. ) Asaka , M. , Kimura , T. , Kudo , M. , Takeda , H. , Mitani , S. , Miyazaki , T. , Miki , K. and Graham , D. Y.Relationship of Helicobacter pylori to serum pepsinogens in an asymptomatic Japanese population . Gastroenterology , 102 , 760 – 766 ( 1992. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 16. ) Kikuchi , S. , Kurosawa , M. and Sakiyama , T.Helicobacter pylori risk associated with sibship size and family history of gastric diseases in Japanese adults . Jpn. J. Cancer Res. , 89 , 1109 – 1112 ( 1998. ). [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 17. ) Fukao , A. , Komatsu , S. , Tsubono , Y. , Hisamichi , S. , Ohori , H. , Kizawa , T. , Ohsato , N. , Fujino , N. , Endo , N.and Iha, M. Helicobacter pylori infection and chronic atrophic gastritis among Japanese blood donors: a cross–sectional study . Cancer Causes Control , 4 , 307 – 312 ( 1993. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 18. ) Tsugane , S. , Kabuto , M. , Imai , H. , Gey , R , Tei , Y. , Hanaoka , T. , Sugano , K. and Watanabe , S.Helicobacter pylori, dietary factors, and atrophic gastritis in five Japanese populations with different gastric cancer mortality . Cancer Causes Control , 4 , 297 – 305 ( 1993. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 19. ) Murray , L. , McCrum , E. E. , Evans , A. E. and Bamford , K. B.Epidemiology of Helicobacter pylori infection among 4742 randomly selected subjects from Northern Ireland . Int. J. Epidemiol , 26 , 880 – 887 ( 1997. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 20. ) Oliveira , A. M. R. , Queiroz , D. M. M. , Rocha , G. A. and Mendes , E. N.Seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in children of low socioeconomic level in Belo Horizonte, Brazil . Am. J. Gastroenterol. , 89 , 2201 – 2204 ( 1994. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 21. ) Rocha , G. A. , Queiroz , D. M. M. , Mendes , E. N. , Oliveira , A. M. R. , Moura , S. B. , Barbosa , M. T. , Mendes , C. C. , Lima , G. P. , Jr. and Oliveira , C. A.Indirect immunofluorescence determination of the frequency of anti–H. pylori antibodies in Brazilian blood donors . Braz. J. Med. Biol. Res. , 25 , 683 – 689 ( 1992. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 22. ) Tsugane , S. , Tei , Y. , Takahashi , T. , Watanabe , S. and Sugano , K.Salty food intake and risk of Helicobacter pylori infection . Jpn. J. Cancer Res. , 85 , 474 – 478 ( 1994. ). [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 23. ) Fontham , E. T. H. , Ruiz , B. , Perez , A. , Hunter , F. and Correa , P.Determinations of Helicobacter pylori infection and chronic gastritis . Am. J. Gastroenterol. , 90 , 1094 – 1101 ( 1995. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 24. ) Goodman , K. J. , Correa , P. , Aux , H. J. T. , Ramirez , H. , DeLany , J. P. , Pepinosa , O. G. , Quinones , M. L. and Parra , T. C.Helicobacter pylori infection in the Colombian Andes: a population–based study of transmission pathways . Am. J. Epidemiol , 144 , 290 – 299 ( 1996. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 25. ) Hamajima , N. , Inoue , M. , Tajima , K. , Tominaga , S. , Matsuura , A. , Kobayashi , S. and Ariyoshi , Y.Lifestyle and anti‐Helicobacter pylori immunoglobulin G antibody among outpatients . Jpn. J. Cancer Res. , 88 , 1038 – 1043 ( 1997. ). [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 26. ) Hamajima , N. , Matsuo , K. , Saito , T. , Tajima , K. , Okuma , K. , Yamao , K. and Tominaga , S.Interleukin 1 polymorphisms, lifestyle factors, and Helicobacter pylori infection . Jpn. J. Cancer Res. , 92 , 383 – 389 ( 2001. ). [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 27. ) Bertoni , G. , Sassatelli , R. , Nigrisoli , E. , Tansini , P. , Bianchi , G. , Casa , G. D. , Gagni , A. and Bedogni , G.Triple therapy with azithromycin, omeprazole, and amoxicillin is highly effective in the eradication of Helicobacter pylori: a controlled trial versus omeprazole plus amoxicillin . Am. J. Gastroenterol. , 91 , 258 – 263 ( 1996. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 28. ) Kamada , T. , Haruma , K. , Komoto , K. , Mihara , M. , Chen , X. , Yoshihara , M. , Sumii , K. , Kajiyama , G. , Tahara , K. and Kawamura , Y.Effect of smoking and histological gastritis severity on the rate of H. pylori eradication with omeprazole, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin . Helicobacter , 4 , 204 – 210 ( 1999. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 29. ) The EUROGAST Study Group . Epidemiology of, and risk factors for, Helicobacter pylori infection among 3194 asymptomatic subjects in 17 populations . Gut , 34 , 1672 – 1676 ( 1993. ). [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 30. ) Woodward , M. , Morrison , C. and McColl , K.An investigation into factors associated with Helicobacter pylori infection . J. Clin. Epidemiol , 53 , 175 – 182 ( 2000. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 31. ) Namekata , T. , Miki , K. , Kimmey , M. , Fritsche , T. , Hughes , D. , Moore , D. and Suzuki , K.Chronic atrophic gastritis and Helicobacter pylori infection among Japanese Americans in Seattle . Am. J. Epidemiol , 151 , 820 – 830 ( 2000. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 32. ) Hamajima , N. , Matsuo , K. , Suzuki , T. , Nakamura , T. , Matsuura , A. , Tajima , K. and Tominaga , S.Low expression myeloperoxidase genotype negatively associated with Helicobacter pylori infection . Jpn. J. Cancer Res. , 92 , 488 – 493 ( 2001. ). [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Japanese Journal of Cancer Research : Gann are provided here courtesy of Wiley

RESOURCES