Frequency of Helicobacter pylori infection using 13C-UBT in asymptomatic individuals of Barakaho, Islamabad, Pakistan.

High frequency of Helicobacter (H.) pylori infection has been reported in Pakistan mainly for dyspeptic patients, while the published data is inadequate regarding asymptomatic population. The non-invasive 13C urea breath test (UBT) was used to determine the frequency of H. pylori infection in 516 asymptomatic individuals and to find out its association with gender and age. Overall prevalence was 74.4% (384/516) while 63.5% (113/178) children were positive for 13C-UBT and the percentage increased with age in both the genders with significantly higher prevalence in adolescents (p=0.003) and adults (p < 0.001). Moreover, there was non-significant difference between the prevalence of H. pylori infection in males and females in all age categories. The reported high frequency of H. pylori infection warrants further studies to identify epidemiological and environmental risk factors.