Helicobacter pylori Infection and Serum Pepsinogen Level With the Risk of Gastric Precancerous Conditions

Gastric precancerous conditions are generally considered to play an essential role in the gastric carcinogenesis cascade. This study identified risk factors of gastric precancerous conditions in a nationwide multicenter cross-sectional study.Individuals who made their visit to 115 hospitals in China for gastric cancer screening were recruited. Lifestyle habits and personal information were collected through a series of questionnaires. Serum biomarker test (pepsinogen I, pepsinogen II, gastrin-17, and anti-Helicobacter pylori immunoglobulin G antibody) and endoscopy were then performed. Risk factors for gastric precancerous conditions were identified by univariate and multivariate analyses.Of 14,929 subjects eligible for analysis, 4477 (30.0%) developed gastric precancerous conditions and 405 (2.71%) developed gastric cancer. In multiple logistic regression, precancerous conditions were associated with advanced age [odds ratio (OR)=1.027; 95% confidence interval (Cl), 1.023-1.032; P<0.001], male gender (OR=1.303; 95% Cl, 1.188-1.429; P<0.001), H. pylori infection (OR=1.377; 95% Cl, 1.272-1.490, P<0.001), and smoking (OR=1.142; 95% Cl, 1.005-1.298, P=0.004), whereas they were inversely correlated with white meat intake (OR=0.731; 95% Cl, 0.673-0.794; P<0.001) and pepsinogen I level (30 to 70 subgroup OR=1.536; 95% Cl, 1.163-2.028; P=0.002; <30 subgroup OR=1.354; 95% Cl, 1.206-1.520; P<0.001). Also, the authors observed a statistically lower prevalence of reflux esophagitis (2.8% vs. 4.7%) and of gastric polyps (11.0% vs. 13.7%) in H. pylori-infected population.Patients with H. pylori have a 1.4-fold higher risk of having gastric precancerous conditions. Besides, precancerous conditions were associated with advanced age, male gender, H. pylori infection, and smoking in a large population. However, regular white meat intake and higher pepsinogen I level were associated with reduced risk of having precancerous lesions.