• Ibrahim Zvidi, Ram Dickman, and Doron Boltin.
• Clalit Health Services, Lod, Israel.
• Isr Med Assoc J. 2023 Nov 1; 25 (11): 729734729-734.

BackgroundHelicobacter pylori (H. pylori) prevalence varies according to both geographical region and ethnicity. The interplay between these two factors has been poorly studied.ObjectivesTo determine the positivity rate of H. pylori infection among Jewish and Arab patients who live in a mixed urban center in Israel.MethodsBetween November 2009 and September 2014, dyspeptic patients referred to a gastroenterology clinic in Lod, Israel, were enrolled in a prospective study. For each patient, clinical and epidemiological data were collected and a noninvasive or endoscopy-based test for H. pylori was performed.ResultsA total of 429 consecutive patients (322 Jewish and 107 Arabs), mean age 45 years (range 15-91 years) were included; 130 males. Overall positivity for H. pylori was 42.4% (182/429). The positivity rate of H. pylori was 38.8% for Jews (125/322) and 53.2% for Arabs (57/107) in Lod (P < 0.01). When immigrants were excluded, the difference in H. pylori positivity did not reach statistical significance (45.0% [77/171] vs. 53.2% [57/107], P = 0.217, in Jews and Arabs, respectively).ConclusionsH. pylori infection was more common in Arabs that Jews in the mixed city of Lod, Israel. This finding may suggest that non-environmental factors were responsible for the observed difference in H. pylori positivity.

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