HELICOBACTER-PYLORI AND GASTRODUODENAL DISORDERS IN INDIA - LESSONS FROM EPIDEMIOLOGY

The relationship of Helicobacter pylori and gastroduodenal disorders should be compared in the developing (DG) and developed (DD) nations (Table 1) for a better understanding of the etiopathogenesis of these disorders. Although chronic gastritis is widespread in the DG nations, benign and malignant gastric ulcer (GU) are uncommon. Repeated reinfections and longer duration of H. pylori infection in the fundus-body mucosa of patients with duodenal ulcer from the DG nations explain the lower values of maximal acid output reported. The lower prevalence of gastric metaplasia in patients with duodenal ulcer (DU) in the DG nations compared to patients in the DD nations suggests that DU in different populations results from varying mechanisms.