Helicobacter pylori infection, dining habits, and cohabitation in health examination and household cohorts

doi:10.3748/wjg.122808

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Publication Name

World Journal of Gastroenterology

ISSN

1007-9327

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Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA

Retrospective Study

Copyright: ©Author(s) 2027. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.

World J Gastroenterol. Jan 7, 2027; 33(1): 122808
Published online Jan 7, 2027. doi: 10.3748/wjg.122808

Helicobacter pylori infection, dining habits, and cohabitation in health examination and household cohorts

Ao-Jian Deng, Chao Tang, Bai Zhou, Ting Cai, Bing Chen, Su-Xin Zhang, Xue-Er Yang, Ying Li, Fen Wang

Ao-Jian Deng, Chao Tang, Bai Zhou, Ting Cai, Bing Chen, Su-Xin Zhang, Xue-Er Yang, Fen Wang, Department of Gastroenterology, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China

Ying Li, Health Management Center, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China

Co-corresponding authors: Ying Li and Fen Wang.

Author contributions: Deng AJ analyzed data and wrote the paper; Deng AJ, Tang C, Zhou B, Cai T, Chen B, Zhang SX, and Yang XE conducted research; Li Y and Wang F conceived and designed research as co-corresponding authors; all authors critically reviewed and provided final approval of the manuscript, were responsible for the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

AI contribution statement: AI tools (specifically DeepSeek) were used solely for language editing. No AI tool was involved in the generation of research data, interpretation of results, or formulation of conclusions. All AI-generated outputs were critically reviewed and revised by the authors.

Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 82270594; the Outstanding Youth Foundation of Hunan Province, No. 2022JJ20092; the Science and Technology Innovation Program of Hunan Province, No. 2024RC3065; the Wisdom Accumulation and Talent Cultivation Project of Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, No. YX202103; Scientific Research Project of Hunan Provincial Health Commission, No. 20256738; the Independent Exploration and Innovation Project of Central South University, No. 2025ZZTS0150; and the Graduate Research Innovation Project of Hunan Province, No. CX20250417.

Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University (approval No. Kuai 22136).

Informed consent statement: The requirement to obtain informed written consent was waived, because the study was retrospective and did not involve any privacy and commercial interests.

Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interest in publishing the manuscript.

Data sharing statement: The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

Corresponding author: Fen Wang, MD, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, No. 138 Tongzi Road, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China. wfen-judy@csu.edu.cn

Received: April 29, 2026
Revised: May 26, 2026
Accepted: June 26, 2026
Published online: January 7, 2027
Processing time: 195 Days and 0.2 Hours

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is characterized by familial clustering, which is widely attributed to shared meals. However, the effectiveness of serving chopsticks in preventing transmission remains debated.

AIM

To investigate the risk factors for H. pylori infection and to elucidate the role of dietary habits vs intrafamilial transmission in its spread within households.

METHODS

The study included two populations: (1) 71663 individuals from a health examination cohort; and (2) 745 individuals from 262 community households. The questionnaires collected demographic, lifestyle, and dietary data. H. pylori infection was determined by a ¹³C-urea breath test. Multivariate regression models were used to identify risk factors.

RESULTS

The use of serving chopsticks was not significantly associated with H. pylori infection. Household analysis confirmed significant familial clustering (63.7% household infection rate; χ² = 13.426; P = 0.009). Larger household size, having more children under the age of 5, and a longer duration of cohabitation were associated with a greater number of H. pylori infections within a household.

CONCLUSION

This study indicates that the familial clustering of H. pylori infection may primarily be associated with close cohabitation and that the use of serving chopsticks is not related to H. pylori infection.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori; Serving chopsticks; Familial clustering; Household-based study; Retrospective study

Core Tip: This retrospective study included both a health examination population and a community household population. The use of serving chopsticks was not associated with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. H. pylori infection exhibits familial clustering and is associated with close cohabitation rather than shared dining habits. These results suggest that future H. pylori prevention strategies should focus on comprehensive household-level strategies to address the role of close interpersonal contact in H. pylori transmission.