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PREVALENCE AND PREDICTORS OF HELICOBACTER PYLORI INFECTION IN CHILDREN AND ADULTS FROM THE PENAN ETHNIC MINORITY OF MALAYSIAN BORNEO

To determine the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori antigen carriage in stool in the Penan ethnic minority in Malaysian Borneo, we studied 295 Penans 0.6–89.0 years of age from 1) the remote Limbang Division, 2) Mulu regional center, and 3) Belaga village. Overall, 37.7% of the subjects tested positive. Peak prevalence was reached by 10 years of age. There were no differences in age, sex, body mass index, and socioeconomic/domestic variables between antigen-positive and antigen-negative subjects. In a logistic regression analysis, subjects from Limbang were least likely to be antigen-positive (odds ratio [OR] = 0.23, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.12–0.44 versus other sites, P < 0.001). Availability of a flushing toilet was protective against H. pylori carriage (OR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.27–0.95, P = 0.031). Infection with H. pylori among the Penan was less than reported in other low socioeconomic groups. The lowest prevalence in the most remote setting suggests that the infection has been a recent arrival in previously isolated communities.

Received January 18, 2004. Accepted for publication April 8, 2004.

Acknowledgments: We are grateful to the Sarawak State Government, the Sarawak Forestry Department, the Sarawak Health Department, the Penan village headmen, the Penan medical assistants, and all study subjects for their cooperation and assistance during the study. We also thank Amy Lim Ping Ping and Liwan Lasem for help with laboratory procedures and Khatijah Yaman for data entry.

Financial support: The study was supported by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak short-term grants 238 (2000) (29) and 315 (2002) (52).

Authors’ addresses: Simon Siong Sing Huang, Gastroenterology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia, Telephone: 60-82-671-000, Fax: 60-82-672-411, E-mail: sshuang{at}fhs.unimas.my. Abdul Karim Russ Hassan, Internal Medicine, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia, E-mail: hakarim{at}fhs.unimas.my. Keng Ee Choo, Pediatrics, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia, E-mail: kechoo{at}fhs.unimas.my. Mohamad Iswandy Ibrahim, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia. Timothy M. E. Davis, University of Western Australia, School of Medicine and Pharmacology, Fremantle Hospital, PO Box 480, Fremantle, Western Australia 6959, Australia, Telephone: 61-8-9431-3229, Fax: 61-8-9431-2977, E-mail: tdavis{at}cyllene.uwa.edu.au.

Reprint requests: Timothy M. E. Davis, University of Western Australia, School of Medicine and Pharmacology, Fremantle Hospital, PO Box 480, Fremantle, Western Australia 6959, Australia.

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