Relationship of Helicobacter pylori infection with diarrhea and nutritional status among nutritionally-at-risk children

A crossectional study of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection was carried out in 275 children (Age range = 6-36 months) belonging to the low socio-economic strata (SES) in the rural and suburban areas of Bogor (West Java Indonesia). H. Pylori infection was diagnosed by using C-13 urea breath test and nutritional status was analyzed by z- 2 scores. The study revealed a strong (χ2 = 30.9; df=4; p<0.01) association between the age and prevalence of H. pylori infection. The younger the child the higher was the prevalence of H. pylori infection. A similar trend but less 2 stronger (χ2 =7.2; df=3; p<0.05) association was observed between the educational status of mothers and prevalence of H. pylori infection. Although there was a trend, the results did not yield any significant association between diarrhoea and H. pylori infection. A similar trend was also seen between anemia status and H. pylori infection. Of particular interest was the higher rate of H.pylori infection in children who were on breast-feeding as compared to those who had already been weaned (p<0.05). Stunting, a deficit of length-for-age was the only parameter among the three indicators of malnutrition (underweight, wasting, stunting), which was observed to be significantly (P<0.05) associated with H. pylori infection in our study. Although the other two parameters, underweight and wasting, were also manifested, the associations were not statistically significant. The results of this study have demonstrated that H. Pylori infection has an effect on malabsorption leading to a negative impact on the ability of children to thrive. (author)