Role of Helicobacter pylori infection in Hispanic patients with anemia

Pernicious anemia represents the final phase of a process that begins with Helicobacter pylori-associated gastritis and evolves through progressive levels of atrophy until loss of parietal cell mass. Numerous studies have suggested an association between H. pylori infection, unexplained iron deficiency anemia and cobalamin deficiency. Our research question was to determine whether there is an association between with H. pylori infection and development of anemia in Hispanic patients. This cross sectional pilot study involved data analysis of individual from years 2010-2012 examining the association between H. pylori infection and hemoglobin levels in patients with Hispanic ethnicity. A total of 189 records were evaluated, of which 33 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The study sample was divided in two groups. Group-A: 5 subjects with H. pylori infection and anemia; Group-B: 28 patients with H. pylori without anemia. Fisher exact test applied between categorical variables to determine the statistical significance of symptoms comparing anemic vs. non-anemic H. pylori infected patients yielded a p = 0.0027. In addition, restoration of anemia in two subjects following eradication therapy without previous iron or cobalamin replacement therapy suggested a potential role of this bacterium in the development of anemia in Hispanics. In conclusion, from the results of this study a potential association between Helicobacter pylori infection and anemia in Hispanic patients is suggested. Restoration of hemoglobin after eradication of bacteria further supports this concept.