Dietary characteristics of students and the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection

Abstract

Background: World Health Organization (WHO) improper diet and its consequences are considered to be the most common risk factors for non-communicable diseases in the world's population nowadays.In Mongolia, food variety is poor, flour and meats being the most common ingredients of the daily diet and it have been leading to disproportion and deficiency of the essential nutrition. Researchers reported that over 50 percent of the world population is infected with helicobacter, which 30-40 percent in the developed countries and 70 percent of people in the developing countries. Even though, a few studies to determine the prevalence of H.Pylori had been conducted in our country, there is no study that has been conducted in terms of the H.Pylori infection among undergraduate students. Furthermore, knowledge, competence and approach to the proper nutrition and diet are being poor among university students lead us to conduct the research study. Objective: To determine diet, dyspepsia and the prevalence of H.Pylori infection among undergraduate students Methods: Total of 200 students who live in a dormitory of the university has been participated in the study. Questionnaire that is composed of 34 questions was collected and H.Pylori infection was detected with rapid test. Statistical analysis was performed with STATA 12 program. Results: Of the total participants, 62.5% (125) ate 1-2 meals a day, 34% (68) ate 3-4 meals a day, and 3.5% (7) ate 5 or more meals a day. 36.5% (78) of the study participants had gastric dyspepsia symptoms according to the questionnaire. 23.5% (47) of students complained heartburn, 17% (34) complained belching, and 11% (22) of them had abdominal pain. Serological testing for H.Pylori IgG was positive in 71% (142) and negative in 29% (58) of the study population. (p=0.001) Conclusion: Knowledge about food and nutrition was poor and diet was improper among the participants. H.Pylori infection was detected in 71% (142) of the dormitory students.