Seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori and length of stay in a nursing home

Background. Helicobacter pylori infection appears to be contracted mainly i n childhood, and it is associated with disadvantaged socioeconomic conditio ns, overcrowding, and living in institutions. In this study we determined t he seroprevalence of H. pylori among elderly patients (age greater than or equal to 70 years) admitted to a major medical center in Israel, and studie d the relationship between seroprevalence of H. pylori and the duration of stay in a nursing home prior to the admission. Patients and Methods. Whole blood from 182 consecutive patients hospitalize d at the Rabin Medical Center was tested for the presence of anti-H. pylori IgG using Helisal Rapid Blood Test kit (Cortecs Diagnostics). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to study the relation between H. pyl ori seropositivity and possible predictive factors such as age, gender and duration of stay in a nursing home. Results. Of the 182 patients included in the study, 80 (44%) were living in nursing homes (NH) and 102 (56%) were living in their own homes (H) prior to admission. Subjects that stayed in nursing homes for more than 15 months were significantly more likely to be seropositive than subjects with a sho rter duration of stay (84% and 63% respectively, p = 0.03). Using a multiva riate logistic regression analysis on both the NH group and the whole group , seropositivity was found to be significantly associated with duration of slay in a nursing home (p = 0.03 and p = 0.01 respectively). Seropositivity was not associated with age in either group. Conclusions. Living in a nursing home is associated with increased risk for H. pylori infection in the elderly. There is a strong correlation between the duration of stay in a nursing home and the prevalence of H. pylori infe ction.