[Frequency of Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with different clinical symptoms].

H. pylori was isolated from the gastric mucosa in 1140 (52.4%) cases out of 2177 subjects receiving endoscopic examination because of gastric and/or duodenal diseases. The frequency of H. pylori isolation amounted to 38.1% in children and 57.4% in adults. The frequency of H. pylori isolation was the highest in duodenal ulcer disease (76%) and the lowest in subjects with normal gastric mucosa (10% and 20% in children and adults, respectively). Elevated levels of IgA anti-H. pylori antibodies were found in children (93%) and adults (97%) with H. pylori-positive isolates, as well as in children (20%) and adults (26%) with normal gastric mucosa and H. pylori-negative isolates. The frequency of H. pylori infection was found to increase with patient's age, and was the highest in patients aged between 31 and 50 years.