Helicobacter pylori prevalence among medical students in a high endemic area

ABSTRACT

To evaluate the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori [H. pylori] among Saudi medical students. Volunteer medical students were randomly selected in the College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from January 2005 to May 2005. A urea breath test [UBT] was performed for each medical student. Important demographic data was recorded. Each student had to answer a questionnaire on upper gastrointestinal [UGI] symptoms before the UBT. A total of 120 students were recruited [73 males [61%] and 47 females [39%]] with a mean age of 22.2 years [age varied from 18 to 28 years]. The prevalence of H. pylori was surprisingly low at 35%, compared to a previously reported high prevalence among the Saudi population [80%]. Thirty-one percent of medical students reported>/=1 UGI symptom with no significant differences between the positive and negative UBT results. Although there was a trend, there was no significant prevalence difference between the preclinical and the clinical group of students. We found a low prevalence of H. pylori in our young university medical student's population. The low prevalence of H. pylori in this young population may have important clinical and economic implications