Unintended consequences of Helicobacter pylori infection in children in developing countries

Abstract

Helicobacter pylori infection is predominantly acquired early in life. The prevalence of the infection in childhood is low in developed countries, whereas in developing countries most children are infected by 10 y of age. In poor resource settings, where malnutrition, parasitic/enteropathogen and H. pylori infection co-exist in young children, H. pylori might have potentially more diverse clinical outcomes. This paper reviews the impact of childhood H. pylori infection in developing countries that should now be the urgent focus of future research. The extra-gastric manifestations in early H. pylori infection in infants in poor resource settings might be a consequence of the infection associated initial hypochlorhydria. The potential role of H. pylori infection on iron deficiency, growth impairment, diarrheal disease, malabsorption and cognitive function is discussed in this review.

Keywords: :

• Helicobacter pylori
• children
• hypochlorhydria
• iron deficiency
• diarrhea
• growth retardation
• malabsorption
• cognitive impairment
• developing countries

Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest

No potential conflict of interest was disclosed.

Acknowledgments

DQ and JEC were funded under the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Union, Project CONTENT (INCO-DEV-3–032136), “Evaluation and Control of Neglected Mucosal Enteric Infections in Childhood”