Association Between Helicobacter pylori Infection and Anemia Among Adult Dyspeptic Patients Attending Kiryandongo General Hospital, Uganda

Daisy Asiimwe; Isaac Bangi; Jospeh Esanyu; Daniel Ojok; Benedict Okot; Clinton Olong; Robert Wagubi; Godfrey Kisembo; Fred Sempijja; Enoch Muwanguzi; Benson Okongo

doi:10.2147/JBM.S392146

Association Between Helicobacter pylori Infection and Anemia Among Adult Dyspeptic Patients Attending Kiryandongo General Hospital, Uganda

J Blood Med. 2023 Jan 24:14:57-66. doi: 10.2147/JBM.S392146. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara City, Uganda.
² Department of Hospital Administration, Kiryandongo General Hospital, Kiryandongo, Uganda.
³ Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Uganda Institute of Allied Health and Management Sciences - Mulago, Kampala City, Uganda.

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of anemia and its association with Helicobacter pylori infection among adult dyspeptic patients.

Patients and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 283 dyspeptic patients at Kiryandongo General Hospital, in Uganda. A structured questionnaire was administered to capture demographic and clinical characteristics of study participants. Four milliliters of blood were then collected into an EDTA vacutainer for Complete Blood Count (CBC) and analyzed using HUMA COUNT 30^TS, and peripheral blood smears were made and stained using Giemsa stain. Anemia was defined as hemoglobin levels <12g/dl in females and <13g/dl in men according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) stool antigen test was performed using Whole power H. pylori Ag rapid test device, and saline stool preparation was examined for intestinal parasites. Chi-squared test and Logistic regression were performed to determine association, and a p-value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: The overall prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection was 42.4% (120/283). The prevalence of anemia among H. pylori-infected patients was 25.8% (31/120) and 15.3% (25/163) among H. pylori-negative counterparts. H. pylori infection was significantly associated with anemia (p-value 0.042), age (p-value 0.02, 0.009), water sources (p-value 0.0049,) and intestinal parasitic infestation (p-value 0.02), respectively.

Conclusion: This study has shown that the prevalence of H. pylori infection and anemia is high among dyspeptic patients at Kiryandongo General Hospital. H. pylori infection was found associated with anemia, age, water sources, and intestinal parasitic infestation. Routine screening of anemia in H. pylori-infected individuals and further studies to explore the relationship between anemia and H. pylori disease is highly recommended.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori infection; anemia; prevalence.