Prevalence of H. pylori Infection and Atrophic Gastritis Among Symptomatic and Dyspeptic Adults in Kazakhstan. A Hospital-based Screening Study Using a Panel of Serum Biomarkers

Background: Health authorities of Kazakhstan are seeking for effective measures to interrupt the untoward trend, projected to increase the current number of gastric cancer (GC) cases (n=3,316) by 50% until the year 2030. Objective: Use of a non-invasive blood test with four stomach-specific biomarkers (Pepsinogen-I (PG-I) and -II (PG-II), amidated gastrin-17 (G- 17), and Helicobacter pylori (HP) IgG antibodies), to assess for the prevalence of stomach conditions: Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection and atrophic gastritis (AG), both known to increase GC risk of in Kazakhstan. Materials and Methods: A cohort of 835 (symptomatic and asymptomatic) cases (473 women and 362