Lack of association between Helicobacter pylori infection and childhood overweight/obesity.

Abstract

The reduction in the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in developed countries coincides with the increasing incidence of obesity and might be a contributing factor to the obesity epidemic. We aimed to evaluate the association between H. pylori infection and childhood overweight/ obesity in Israeli children. Patients diagnosed with H. pylori infection by endoscopy, histology, and a positive culture, between January 2013 and August 2018, were identified and compared with H. pylori-negative children, of the same age and gender, undergoing endoscopy for the same indications during the same time period. Data collected included the following: age, gender, height, weight, BMI, BMI percentile, and the indication for endoscopy. Patients with missing anthropometric data or having a disease affecting growth were excluded. We included 146 H. pylori-positive children and 146 age- and gender-matched H. pylori-negative patients. 63.7% (186/292) were female, mean age 13.1±3.7. Overweight (BMI between the 85th-95th percentile) and obesity (BMI>95th percentile) were present in 56/292 (19.2%). Among the H. pylori-positive children, 11.6% were overweight, 7.5% obese, among the H. pylori-negative children, 10.3% were overweight, 8.9% obese, demonstrating no differences between the groups. The main indication for endoscopy was abdominal/ epigastric pain in 79.8% (233/292). The percent of children with a BMI≥85% did not differ by gender age or the indication for endoscopy. No association between H. pylori infection and childhood overweight/ obesity was demonstrated. This is in contrasts with previous pediatric studies demonstrating an inverse correlation.