Correlation between helicobacter pylori infection and iron deficiency anemia in school-aged children

Abstract

Background: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is recognized as a common nutritional problem in infants and young children in developing countries mainly due to poor nutrition in most cases. Objective: To evaluate the association between H. pylori infection and iron deficiency anemia in school-aged children. Patients and Methods: This study was conducted on 60 participants divided into two groups. Group I: formed of 30 patients suffering from iron deficiency anemia with hemoglobin (Hb) less than l1g/dL. Group II: formed of 30 healthy children (control Group) Results: In the current study we found that there was a significant decrease in weight and BMI among cases group p-value <0.001. In the current study, we found that there was a significant decrease in all CBC parameters among cases versus control. In the current study we found that there were significant differences between the two groups regarding nutritional status as in cases there was a higher percentage of low iron sources in the diet, there was a significant decrease in serum iron, ferritin, and TIBC in cases versus control. In the current study, we found that there was a significant increase in the number of positive samples for H pylori antigen in stool among cases versus control 63.3% versus 23.3% p-value 0.002. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate a significant association between children with iron deficiency anemia and positive H. pylori infection in school-age children. Moreover, H. pylori infection may be one of the significant causes of iron deficiency anemia.