Lack of association between helicobacter pylori and pediatric atopy: evidence from a latin american multicenter cohort
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Date
2025
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Abstract
Objectives: Owing to the regulatory effect of the immune response associatedwith Helicobacter pylori, a protective role for this infection in the developmentof atopic conditions in children has been postulated. We aim to study thepotential inverse association between H. pylori infection and the presence ofasthma/rhinitis/eczema in Latin American children.Methods: This was a cross‐sectional study with prospective recruitment ofconsecutive symptomatic patients referred for endoscopy in Cuba, Ecuador,and Chile. Demographic data and asthma, rhinitis, and eczema (InternationalStudy of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood III) questionnaires were adminis-tered. Atopy was defined as the presence of at least one of the three diseases.A child was considered H. pylori‐infected if one endoscopy‐based invasive testresult was positive. Multiple regression model analyses were performed.Results: Two hundred fifty‐one patients were enrolled. Of these, 53% weremale, aged 11 ± 2.7 years. Additionally, 114 (45%) were infected by H. pylori,and 141 (56.2%) had some atopic condition, with no differences by country.Atopy was more prevalent in males than females (59% vs. 41%, p < 0.05). Nosignificant association was observed between atopy and the presence of H.pylori: 68 (59.6%) infected children presented with atopy compared to 73(53.3%) uninfected children. Logistic regression showed that H. pylori infectionwas positively associated with age (odds ratio [OR]: 1.21 [1.05–1.42],p = 0.0117) and rhinitis (OR: 1.89 [1.08–3.35], p = 0.0279) and negativelyassociated with eosinophilic esophagitis (OR: 0.11 [0.01–0.65], p = 0.042).Conclusions: In this study, H. pylori‐infected and uninfected children pre-sented similar frequencies of atopy. Further studies with larger cohorts areneeded to clarify the role of H. pylori in atopic conditions
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Asthma, Eczema, Eosinophilic esophagitis, H. pylori infection, Rhinitis