HELICOBACTER-PYLORI INFECTION AND BLOOD-GROUPS

Objectives: Bacterial attachment is a prerequisite for colonization of the gastric epithelial surface. Recently, it was demonstrated that th e receptor for Helicobacter pylori is the blood group antigen Lewis b, which is exposed only in blood group O. We prospectively examined the prevalence of blood groups in H. pylori-positive and -negative patien ts. To avoid a genetic bias, we compared blood group prevalence of our patients with the general population of Israel. Methods: In the 187 c onsecutive patients we studied, in addition to regular upper endoscopy , H. pylori status and blood group. Exposure to H. pylori was diagnose d when the results of two or more of three methods were found to be po sitive. Results: Exposure was found in 123 patients and 64 were negati ve. The groups were similar in average age and origin, and no signific ant difference was demonstrated for blood group. Blood group distribut ion between any given origin was not significantly different in our pa tients and in a sample of 182,701 blood donors. Conclusions: Positivit y for H. pylori was not associated with blood group O. Our observation does not support the conclusion that the receptor for H. pylori in th e gastric mucosa is the blood group antigen Lewis b.