Abstract
BACKGROUND: The relationship between Helicobacter pylori and reflux oesophagitis remains controversial. AIMS: To evaluate the relationship between H pylori and reflux oesophagitis in a large number of Japanese subjects. SUBJECTS: A total of 5732 consecutive Japanese subjects during a health screening were enrolled. METHODS: Gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed on all subjects. We simultaneously measured serum anti-H pylori antibody and pepsinogen as markers of H pylori infection together with gastric atrophy. The risk of reflux oesophagitis was evaluated in relation to these markers, and the results were compared with those of gastric cancer. RESULTS: Reflux oesophagitis was found in 108 subjects. Both positivity for H pylori antibody (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 0.67 (95% confidence interval 0.45-1.0)) and "low" pepsinogen indicating gastric atrophy (OR 0.35 (0.18-0.68)) were negatively associated with reflux oesophagitis. After subjects were classified into four groups based on positivity or negativity for H pylori antibody and "low" pepsinogen, the prevalence of reflux oesophagitis showed a decreasing trend as H pylori induced gastric atrophy became more severe. The risk of gastric cancer showed an increasing trend, exactly the opposite to that of reflux oesophagitis. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of a large series of Japanese subjects revealed a decreasing prevalence of reflux oesophagitis in conjunction with progress of gastric atrophy induced by H pylori infection. This pattern was completely opposite to that of gastric cancer cases. A protective role of H pylori for reflux oesophagitis through the development of gastric atrophy has been suggested.