The serological gastric biopsy in primary care : studies on atrophic gastritis

Abstract

This thesis sheds light on the clinical utility of serum markers of gastric atrophy, pepsinogen and gastrin, in general practice in the Dutch province of Zeeland. The biomarkers were used in studies on atrophic corpus gastritis, as surrogate outcome of gastric cancer. Attention was paid to seroepidemiological, aetiological and diagnostic aspects. Results of the thesis: - The seroprevalence of atrophic corpus gastritis in Zeeland appears to be 3.4%, which is higher than in other parts of the country (reference cohort studies, respectively 2.4% and 1.6%). The approximate relative risk of having corpus atrophy was higher(p