Long-term use of proton pump inhibitors and vitamin B12 status in elderly individuals.

Background: Some studies have shown that short-term use of proton pump inhibitors decreases the absorption of vitamin B12, but the results of studies into long-term proton pump inhibitor use and vitamin B12 deficiency are inconsistent.

Aim: To investigate whether long-term proton pump inhibitor use is associated with an abnormal vitamin B12 status in elderly individuals.

Methods: One hundred and twenty-five long-term (>3, years) proton pump inhibitor users aged 65, years and above were recruited from general practices.

Comparison between serology and histology in the diagnosis of advanced gastric body atrophy: a study in a Dutch primary community.

Goals: To assess serologically diagnosed gastric body atrophy (GBA) by histology in a sample of the general population.

Background: GBA is a precursor lesion in gastric cancer. Data on GBA in a primary health care community in the Netherlands have not been reported.

Role of Helicobacter pylori and autoimmunity in serological atrophic corpus gastritis in a Dutch primary care community.

Background: Atrophic corpus gastritis predisposes to vitamin B12 deficiency and gastric cancer. Little is known about the seroprevalence of atrophic corpus gastritis in the general population of Western Europe.

Aim: To investigate the seroprevalence of atrophic corpus gastritis in a West-European primary care community in relation to Helicobacter pylori infection and autoimmunity.