The Association of Helicobacter pylori Infection and Anemia in Patients with Gastritis

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori has been known to be not only associated with gastrointestinal diseases but also to be reported in several cases of increased incidence of anemia. The anemia associated with H. pylori infection was reported though the population studies and case reports. But in Korea, there have been not enough studies especially in adults group, so we investigated to find out if H. pylori infection is associated with anemia in adults with gastritis. METHODS: Subjects were 382 men older than 40 years and 158 postmenopausal women, who had visited a general hospital for physical examination from May 2001 to October 2001 and diagnosed as only gastritis. Data were analysed for the effects of H. pylori infection on anemia using logistic regression test. RESULTS: In men, Pearson correlation coefficients between age and hemoglobin, and hematocrit were -0.163, -0.136, respectively (P0.05) respectively. Logistic regression analysis adjusted for age showed the lower odds ratio for anemia in both men and women without H. pylori than in those with H. pylori, but it was not significant. CONCLUSION: H. pylori infection seems not to affect hemaglobin and hematocrit in the middled-aged men and the postmenopausal women with gastritis. Further investigations will be necessary for various individuals including infants and premenopausal women who may have high incidence for anemia.