Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori Infection in Pediatric Patients With Celiac Disease

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Celiac disease (CD) has been reported to be associated with chronic gastritis and immunological disorders. The aim of the study was to determine the association between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and CD in children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two hundred and two patients with CD aged from 6 months to 17 years (mean: 7.12 +/- 4.64), and 209 age- and sexmatched children without CD were screened for H. pylori infection. RESULTS: Endoscopic appearance revealed significant differences between those patients with CD and the controls both in the antrum and the corpus (p<0.001). Those patients with CD had more frequent superficial gastritis than the control group. Panmucosal gastritis was common in the H. pylori-positive patients with CD. Lymphoid aggregates were significantly higher in the H. pylori-positive and H. pylori-negative patients with CD (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of H. pylori infection was not different between those pediatric patients with CD or without CD.