Background/aim: The vast majority of West African adults are colonised withH. pylori and most children acquire the infection in early life. There is an inverse relationship between the prevalence of H. pylori and socioeconomic development throughout the world. In Greater Glasgow 50% of postcodes belong to Deprivation Categories 5–7 (poorest socioeconomic status). Our aim was to study intrafamilial patterns of H. pylori infection in Glasgow and to identify possible modes of spread.

Methods: The families of 32 children, who presented at the RHSC Glasgow with suspected H. pylori-related disease, were studied. H. pylori status was determined by faecal antigen testing, a method that we have validated against the urea breath test in children.

Results: The families consisted of 57 parents, 47 siblings and 32 index children. Of these 136 subjects 93% provided stool samples. The prevalence of H. pylori in this sample was 35% (41% of parents and 30% of children). Those index children who were of Dep Cats 5–7 were 7 times more likely to be infected with H. pylorithan those of Dep Cats 1–4 (p=0.03 Fisher's exact test). Index children whose siblings were H. pylori +ve were 9 times more likely to be H. pylori +ve themselves (p=0.06). Both the H. pyloristatus of parents (p=0.3, OR=2) and family size (p=0.6, OR=1) were not significantly related to the H. pyloristatus of the index child.

Conclusions: Poor socioeconomic status and having an H. pylori infected sibling are significant risk factors for …