Assessment of the frequency of atrophic helicobacter gastritis and its associated vitamin B12 deficiency

The article shows the assessed study of the frequency of atrophic gastritis and the occurrence of vitamin B12 deficiency in outpatients with atrophic gastric mucosa of Helicobacter etiology. The study included 320 individuals aged 18 to 60 years. The frequency of the Helicobacter pylori infection, fundal and antral atrophic gastritis, the relationship between mucosal atrophy and the levels of pepsinogen 1 and 2, as well as vitamin B12 have been determined. The conclusion has been drawn that the prevalence of the Helicobacter pylori infection among outpatients is high, with a frequency of gastric mucosal atrophy of 18.1%, which is higher than in other studies, and the association of fundal mucosa atrophy with the development of vitamin B12 deficiency and low content of pepsinogen 1 mainly in the age group of 50-59 years has been established. No gender differences have been found. Our research has also confirmed the high significance of determining pepsinogen 1 in blood serum as a marker of gastric body atrophy and the need for thorough patient examination and dynamic observation. The large-scale epidemiological studies [4] have shown that pepsinogens can be used as a biological marker of chronic atrophic gastritis, and their concentrations directly correlate with the severity of gastric atrophy.