TITLE:
Association between Helicobacter pylori Infection and Iron Deficiency Anemia among School-Age Children in Sohag University Hospital, Upper Egypt
AUTHORS:
Ashraf Abou-Taleb, Ahmed Allam, Mahmoud Kamal Elsamman
KEYWORDS:
H. pylori, Iron Deficiency Anemia, School-Age Children
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Blood Diseases,
Vol.7 No.1,
February
27,
2017
ABSTRACT: Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection has been suggested as a cause of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) refractory to iron therapy. Objective: The aim of this work was to evaluate the association between H. pylori infection and IDA among school-age children. Subjects and Methods: This was a prospective case-control study conducted for one year starting from March 2015 and included 200 school-age children with IDA and 50 age and sex matched non-anemic controls, attending pediatric outpatient clinic at Sohag university Hospital, Sohag, Upper Egypt. All of participants were subjected to clinical evaluation and the following investigations: CBC, serum iron, total iron binding capacity, serum ferritin and a quantitative detection of H. pylori IgG antibodies. Results: Totally, 72 (36%) children with IDA and 6 (12%) non-anemic controls had positive level for H. pylori specific IgG (P = 0.036). H. pylori IgG antibody titer showed significant positive correlation with age and significant negative correlation with each of Hb level, MCV, HCT and serum ferritin. Age was higher (p H. pylori positive IDA cases in comparison to H. pylori negative IDA cases. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate significant association between positive serology for H. pylori infection and IDA in school-age children. Moreover, infection may increase the severity of anemia.