Background: The purpose of the present paper was to investigate the relationship between Helicobacter pylori infection and clinical symptomatology, breast-feeding and socioeconomic level. The relationship between H. pylori and iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) and the effect of H. pylori infection on growth were also investigated.
Methods: The subjects consisted of 70 patients aged 4-16 years who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy for recurrent abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and dyspeptic complaints during a 2 year period. Patients were divided into two groups according to presence of histological evidence of H. pylori infection (group 1, H. pylori positive; group 2, H. pylori negative) and groups were compared with respect to epidemiologic characteristics, gastrointestinal complaints, height and weight SD scores and IDA.
Results: Thirty-five (50%) of the 70 patients participating in the study were H. pylori positive. The mean age of group 1 was significantly higher than that of group 2. There were similar characteristics and symptomatology between groups. The majority of the patients in group 1 belonged to low socioeconomic class (class I and II; P < 0.05). The number of the patients exclusively breast-fed for > or =4 months was significantly higher in group 2 than in group 1. Gastritis was significantly more frequent in group 1. Mean hemoglobin, serum Fe and ferritin levels were 11.6 +/- 1.7 g/dL, 45.0 +/- 23.2 microg/dL and 11.9 +/- 8.4 microg/dL, respectively, for group 1 and 12.2 +/- 0.7 g/dL, 79.3 +/- 26.4 microg/dL and 42.1 +/- 31.8 microg/dL, respectively, for group 2. The mean serum Fe and ferritin levels of group 2 were significantly higher than those of group 1. IDA was observed in 20 (57.1%) and six (17.1%) patients in groups 1 and 2, respectively. IDA was significantly more frequent in group 1. Helicobacter pylori infection was found to be the only variable that had significant effect on IDA. Mean SD height and weight for group 1 were lower than those of the group 2. When the patients were evaluated in four groups according to H. pylori and IDA status, mean height SD score of patients with both H. pylori infection and IDA was significantly lower than that of the patients negative for H. pylori and IDA concomitantly.
Conclusion: Low socioeconomic status seems to be an important risk factor for H. pylori infection. Exclusive breast-feeding at least for 4 months can have a protective role against H. pylori infection. Increased frequency of growth retardation and IDA in H. pylori-infected patients in the present study supports similar findings in the literature, although there is still need for detailed studies to clarify the causative mechanisms.