The Association between Helicobacter pylori Infection and Body Weight among Children

Purpose: We performed to reveal the association between the Helicobacter pylori infection and body weight among children. Methods: Out retrospective study included patients who underwent the H. pylori immunoglobulin G testing at Konyang University Hospital between March 2011 and June 2014. These patients were classified as seropositive (28 boys, 27 girls; mean age: $9.89{\pm}3.28years$) or seronegative (55 boys, 54 girls; mean age: $9.84{\pm}3.02years$). Next, we compared various characteristics between the seropositive and negative groups, as well as between obese children (body weight ${\geq}90th$ percentile) and non-obese children (body weight <90th percentile). Furthermore, we compared the change in body weight after 2 months of treatment with amoxicillin, clarithromycin and omeprazole among the 55 seropositive children (14 treated children and 41 non-treated children). Results: There were no differences in the weights and laboratory data for the 55 seropositive children and 109 seronegative children (weight; $40.96{\pm}18.11kg$ vs. $36.85{\pm}13.72kg$, respectively; p=0.14). And, there was no difference in the prevalence of H. pylori infection among the 29 obese and 135 non-obese children (p=0.581). However, after 2 months of eradication, the 14 treated patients exhibited a significant weight gain ($+0.91{\pm}0.52kg$), compared to the 41 non-treated patients ($-0.29{\pm}1.16kg$, p=0.025). Conclusion: Our findings present that obesity was not associated with the H. pylori infection, although H. pylori eradication led to significant increase in body weight.