Association of Helicobacter pylori Infection with Gender and Age Among Peptic Ulcer Patients at Al-Khoms Educational Hospital

Helicobacter pylori is a Gram-negative bacterium commonly associated with gastrointestinal disorders, particularly peptic ulcer disease. H. pylori is one of the most common bacterial infections around the world. They are the most prevalent cause of peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer. Many studies have been conducted to identify and detect the causes and develop therapeutic drugs that limit their risks to humans. This study was performed to determine the relationship between Helicobacter pylori infection and its relation to age and gender in a population of Al-Khoms Educational Hospital, Libya. The study was a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted in the Al-Khoms Educational Hospital from November 2024 to May 2025 to determine the seroprevalence of H. pylori infection. A total of one hundred eighty (n=180) participants (112 females and 23 males, aged between 1 and 90 years) were collected from the microbiology unit of the main medical laboratories of the previously mentioned hospital. For the detection of H. pylori, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits were utilized. In contrast, the absence of both antibodies (IgG and IgM) resulted in the designation of H. pylori-negative status. Anti-H. pylori immunoglobulin (Ig)G/IgM>22 IU/L were classified as H. pylori positive. The analysis was performed by using the statistical package for the social sciences, SPSS version 27. The overall prevalence of H. pylori infection was 75%. H. pylori infection prevalence was higher in females than in men (81.8% vs53.5%, p = 0.0004) The highest prevalence of H. pylori infection is observed in the age groups of 41–50 years age group shows the highest number (42) of positive cases, compared with the other age groups, but a p-value of 0.833 suggests that there is no statistically significant association between age and H. pylori infection status. The prevalence of H. pylori infection was high in this study. H. pylori infection seroprevalence was higher in females than males, and middle-aged people are more vulnerable to H. pylori infection. To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first seroprevalence assessment of H. pylori infection in a population of Al-Khoms City, Libya.