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No association between Helicobacter pylori infection and gastrointestinal complaints in a large cohort of symptomatic children
Author(s) -
Chobot Agata,
Porębska Jolanta,
Krzywicka Agnieszka,
Żabka Alicja,
BąkDrabik Katarzyna,
Pieniążek Wojciech,
Dubik Andrzej,
Adamczyk Piotr,
Kwiecień Jarosław
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.14721
Subject(s) - medicine , helicobacter pylori , gastroenterology , helicobacter pylori infection , cohort , breath test , urea breath test , body mass index , helicobacter , anthropometry , cohort study , pediatrics
Aim This Polish study estimated the prevalence of the Helicobacter pylori infection in symptomatic children aged 3–18 and investigated its association with gastrointestinal complaints. Methods We prospectively enrolled 1984 children (54% female) with a mean age of 9.5 ± 4.1 years, from Silesia, Poland, for the Good Diagnosis Treatment Life screening programme from 2009 to 2016. They underwent a 13 C‐isotope‐labelled urea breath test ( UBT ) to assess their Helicobacter pylori status, making this the biggest Polish study to use this approach. Further analysis included parental‐reported gastrointestinal symptoms and standard deviation scores ( SDS ) of anthropometric measurements. Results The Helicobacter pylori infection was identified in 220 (11%) children (48% female) and was independent of age and sex. The frequency of symptoms did not differ between Helicobacter positive and negative children (all p > 0.05). Children with a positive UBT result had a lower body mass SDS (−0.41 ± 0.98 versus −0.26 ± 1.01, p = 0.04) and height SDS (−0.45 ± 1.34 versus −0.23 ± 1.27, p = 0.02), but similar body mass index SDS . Conclusion We found a low prevalence of Helicobacter pylori in symptomatic children, and positive UBT results were not associated with symptoms that suggested Helicobacter pylori infections. Our findings support the 2017 European and North American guidelines for Helicobacter infections in children.