Gastric cancer in children infected with Helicobacter pylori

Table 1 Patient demographics and their association with Helicobacter pylori infection, n (%)

Variables	H. pylori-positive (n = 330)	H. pylori-negative (n = 270)	P value
Sex
Male	198 (60.0)	160 (59.3)	0.673
Female	132 (40.0)	110 (40.7)
Median age (25th-75th IQR) (years)	13 (8-15)	9 (5-11)	0.012a
Age group, years
1-3	17 (5.2)	-
4-9	26 (7.9)	-
10-14	40 (12.1)	-
15-18	247 (74.8)	-
Parental education level			0.417
Low educational attainment	185 (56.1)	146 (54.1)
High educational attainment	145 (43.9)	124 (45.9)
Annual household income			0.568
Low income	110 (33.3)	102 (37.8)
Medium income	162 (49.1)	132 (48.9)
High income	58 (17.6)	36 (13.3)

^aP < 0.05, median age was compared between Helicobacter pylori-positive and -negative groups.

Education level was categorized into two groups based on years of schooling, using the median as a cutoff: Low educational attainment (≤ 9 years, up to junior high school) and high educational attainment (> 9 years, beyond junior high school). Annual household income was divided into three levels based on quartiles: Low income (< quartile 1), medium income (quartile 1 to quartile 3), and high income (> quartile 3). IQR: Interquartile range; H. pylori: Helicobacter pylori.