HELICOBACTER-PYLORI SEROLOGY IN ELDERLY PEOPLE - A 21-YEAR COHORT COMPARISON IN 70-YEAR-OLDS AND A 20-YEAR LONGITUDINAL POPULATION STUDY IN70-90-YEAR-OLDS

Aims: (i) to compare Helicobacter pylori serology in two 70-year-old c ohorts in Gothenburg, Sweden, born 21 years apart, (ii) to study H. py lori serology in a 70-year-old cohort over 20 years. Population and me thod: H. pylori serology at the age of 70 was investigated in 98 men a nd 132 women born in 1901/02 and in 77 men and 113 women born in 1922. In 21 men and 40 women Helicobacter serology was monitored longitudin ally with examinations at 70, 81, and 90 years of age. The analyses we re performed on frozen samples by use of an in-house enzyme immunoassa y with a sensitivity of 0.99, specificity of 1.00 and positive and neg ative predictive values of 0.96 and 1.00, respectively. Absorbance val ues <0.500 were interpreted as negative; values of greater than or equ al to 0.700 were interpreted as positive, and values in between as inc onclusive. Results: the 70-year-old cohort, born in 1922, showed a sig nificantly lower proportion of subjects with positive H. pylori serolo gy in both men (57.1% vs 80.6%) and women (48.7% us 75.8%) compared wi th 70-year-olds born in 1901/02, There were no significant sex differe nces in either cohort. No longitudinal increase or decrease could be d emonstrated in those who were examined at 70, 81 and 90 years of age. Conclusions: the difference in H. pylori prevalence between the two co horts may reflect a rapid change in socioeconomic conditions in Sweden during this 20-year period.