Gastritis degree was evaluated from a biopsy of the mucosa of gastric antrum and body. The biopsy specimens were fixed in 10% formalin and embedded in paraffin. The samples were stained using Hematoxylin-Eosin and were evaluated by the pathologist of anatomic pathology referring to the visual analogue scale of the updated Sydney System. The higher degree was used if differences of degree were found between the body and antrum. The degree of chronic inflammation, neutrophil infiltration, atrophy, and intestinal metaplasia were scored 0 to 3, i.e., normal (0), mild (1), moderate (2), and severe (3) .