Aim: To revealed the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in the Bhutanese population.
Methods: We recruited a total of 372 volunteers (214 females and 158 males; mean age of 39.6 ± 14.9 years) from three Bhutanese cities (Thimphu, Punaka, and Wangdue). The status of H. pylori infection was determined based on five different tests: the rapid urease test (CLO test), culture, histology, immunohistochemistry (IHC), and serum anti H. pylori-antibody.
Results: The serological test showed a significantly higher positive rate compared with the CLO test, culture, histology and IHC (P < 0.001, P < 0.001, P = 0.01, and P = 0.01, respectively). When the subjects were considered to be H. pylori positive in the case of at least one test showing a positive result, the overall prevalence of H. pylori infection in Bhutan was 73.4%. The prevalence of H. pylori infection significantly decreased with age (P < 0.01). The prevalence of H. pylori infection was lower in Thimphu than in Punakha and Wangdue (P = 0.001 and 0.06, respectively). The prevalence of H. pylori infection was significantly higher in patients with peptic ulcers than in those with gastritis (91.4% vs 71.3%, P = 0.003).
Conclusion: The high incidence of gastric cancer in Bhutan may be attributed to the high prevalence of H. pylori infection.
Keywords: Bhutan; Helicobacter pylori; Prevalence.