Background: Helicobacter pylori (HP) is one of the most common bacterial pathogens in humans, generally acquired during childhood. The correlation between HP and obesity has not been thoroughly investigated.
Objective: To assess the correlation between overweight/obesity and HP coloniztion in pediatric population.
Design/Methods: HP colonization in 70 symptomatic children was determined after gastric biopsies during esophagogastroduodenoscopy. Anthropometric measurements, socio-demographic characteristics and medical history were recorded.
Results: The results are presented in table 1. In brief, mean age of participants was 12.41±3.16 years, 58% were female. Among the entire group 24% were obese or overweight. HP colonization rate was 31%. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups (HP positive or negative) in terms of age, gender, clinical and sociodemographic charachteristics. The prevalence of obesity was significantly lower in patients with HP colonization compared to children with normal biopsy (P<0.018).
Conclusions: This prospective study demonstrates an inverse relation between HP colonization and overweight/obesity among symptomatic children from similar socioeconomic and geographic background. The exact mechanism explaining this "protective" effect of HP coloniztion upon weight is yet to be determined.
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All patients (n=70)
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HP positive (n=22)
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HP negative(n=48)
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p-value
|
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Age (years)
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12.41±3.16 (range 5-18)
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11.31 ±3.38 (range 5-16)
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12.91±2.96 (range 5-18)
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NS
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Gender (female:male)
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42:28
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12:10
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30:18
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NS
|
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Mode of delivery (CS %)
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12 (17%)
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4 (18%)
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8 (16%)
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NS
|
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Breastfeeding (month)
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3.87±5.83 (range 0-30)
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3.84±5.63 (range 0-24)
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3.89 ±5.41 (range 0-30)
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NS
|
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Abdominal pain
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70 (100%)
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22 (100%)
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48 (100%)
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NS
|
|
Nausea and vomiting
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14 (20%)
|
7 (18%)
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7 (14%)
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NS
|
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Obese/overweight
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17 (24%)
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2 (11%)
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15 (31%)
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0.018
|
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Rooms in residency
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4.26±1.26 ( range 2-7)
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4.03±1.3 ( range 2-6)
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4.37±1.23 ( range 2-7)
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NS
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Num. of siblings
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1.93±1.19 (range 0-5)
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2.05±1.31 (range 0-4)
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1.88±1.15( range 0-5)
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NS
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