Differences in Helicobacter pylori associated gastritis in the antrum and body of the stomach.

In 1,265 patients with Helicobacter pylori (HP)-associated gastritis, the degree of HP colonisation correlated in a highly significant manner with the degree and the activity of gastritis in the antrum and body. The degree of HP colonisation is identical in both body and antrum in 49.3%, the antrum being more markedly colonised in 38.7% and the body in 12.0%. In comparison, the degree and activity of gastritis is more pronounced in the antrum in 71.3% and 72.5%, respectively, the corresponding figures for the body being only 3.4% and 7.3%, respectively. The degree of HP colonisation, and also the degree and activity of gastritis, are not age-related. In the body, the degree of colonisation by HP increases with advancing age. In parallel to this, there is also a statistically significant increase in the degree and activity of gastritis in the body. In comparison with the antrum, however, the inflammatory reaction in the body is less pronounced than in the antrum, even with increasing age. The different milieu in the antrum vis-a-vis the body, with changes in acid secretion behaviour is discussed as a possible cause of these differences.