Knowledge regarding helicobacter pylori infection among patients in hail region of Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a gram-negative widely prevalent bacterium that is known to cause chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, gastric carcinoma, and gastric lymphoma. Considering peptic ulcer patients will experience chronic relapse, eliminating H. pylori in this population is significant to prevent further relapses. The treatment should be based on the comorbidities and patient preferences. The objective of this study was to determine the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices among patients generally in the Hail region of Saudi Arabia.

Materials and methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the year 2023, among 880 participants which were selected through simple random sampling method. Data were collected using a validated self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis H-test analysis were conducted to determine the knowledge level among different sociodemographic characteristics. P value of 0.005 was considered significant.

Results: Among 880 respondents, more than half (55.2%) had moderate knowledge regarding H. Pylori infection. Around 85.8% respondents have heard about H. pylori, and 23.9% were diagnosed with this bacterium. Higher knowledge score was more associated with the female gender (P = 0.001), having heard of H. Pylori infection (P < 0.001), and previous diagnosis of H. Pylori infection (P < 0.001).

Conclusion: Study results showed that only 23.1% had good knowledge regarding H. Pylori infection, which requires public education and campaigns, especially among those who are at high risk. Further studies are suggested to include more populations and to elicit false concepts around the subject.