NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Many children--particularly African-American youngsters--seem to acquire the ulcer-causing bacteria, Helicobacter pylori, at an early age, study findings suggest.

While the bacteria are common in the population, researchers are not sure exactly when the organisms take up residence in the intestinal tract. Those with the bacteria are at higher risk of developing ulcers, and in some cases, gastric cancers.

In the study, Dr. Hoda Malaty and colleagues tested blood samples from 224 children taking part in a Louisiana-based heart study. The investigators found that the rate of infection with H. pylori was highest among those aged 4 to 5 years. About 2% of this group became newly infected, compared with 1.5% of children aged 7 to 9 years and 0.3% of adults aged 21 to 23 years.

What's more, black children were more than three times more likely to be infected with H. pylori than their white peers. Eight percent of all children aged 1 to 3 had antibodies against H. pylori--13% of black children and 4% of white children, according to the report in the March 16th issue of The Lancet.

The rate of infection continued to increase faster among blacks over time. By the time the group of children had reached 18 to 23 years of age, nearly one quarter of the group had become infected--43% of blacks and 8% of whites.

In an interview with Reuters Health, Malaty explained that the chance of acquiring H. pylori can be higher in those with lower income, and that the infection tends to cluster among households.

"The black population still suffers from lower socioeconomic status...and infection is probably still more prevalent among grandparents and parents and subsequently can be transmitted to their children," said Malaty, of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.

The findings highlight the need to develop new ways to treat and prevent H. pylori in all children under 10 years, the study concludes. While there is currently no way to prevent the spread of H. pylori, several research teams are working on a vaccine, Malaty said.

People with H. pylori who have an ulcer are commonly treated with antibiotics to eradicate the bug. The infection can go away on its own in some people, or might be eradicated by accident when youngsters take antibiotics for other ailments, according to the report. About 84% of the youngsters who showed signs of infection in childhood still had the bacteria into adolescence and young adulthood.

"Recognizing the early childhood as a major period of acquisition is absolutely an important piece of knowledge," Malaty said. "Based on it, we can arrange our priorities about when to intervene and when we should start to (give) the vaccine for H. pylori when it is ready."

SOURCE: The Lancet 2002;359:931-935.

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