Role of Helicobacter pylori infection in iron deficiency during pregnancy.
OBJECTIVE
We investigated the possible role of Helicobacter pylori infection in iron deficiency during pregnancy in a large group of mothers in Germany after the birth of their baby under special consideration of iron supplementation.


METHODS
All women who were delivered of their baby between November 2000 and November 2001 at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the University of Ulm, Germany, were recruited for the study. Hemoglobin levels at various points of time during pregnancy were obtained from the mothers' health charts. Current H pylori infection was determined by 13 C-urea breath test. We used multiple linear regression analyses to assess the impact of infection status on hemoglobin level at the beginning of pregnancy and on hemoglobin change during pregnancy.


RESULTS
Twenty-three percent of the 898 mothers had a H pylori infection, and 20% of the mothers had a hemoglobin level below 12 g/dL at the beginning of pregnancy. Compared with uninfected mothers, mothers with H pylori infection had a lower mean hemoglobin level at the beginning of pregnancy (-0.25 g/dL; 95% CI, -0.49, -0.003) and a more unfavorable change in hemoglobin level during pregnancy (-0.14 g/dL; 95% CI, -0.38, 0.10).


CONCLUSIONS
This study supports a possible moderate, but still relevant, independent role of H pylori infection in iron deficiency during pregnancy.
Weyermann
Maria
M
Department of Epidemiology, The German Centre for Research on Ageing, Heidelberg, Germany. weyermanndzfa@aol.com
Rothenbacher
Dietrich
D
Gayer
Lydia
L
Bode
Günter
G
Adler
Guido
G
Grab
Dieter
D
Flock
Felix
F
Brenner
Hermann
H
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000097:blood*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D000090463:Iron Deficiencies; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000097:blood*; D012044:Regression Analysis
D006454:Hemoglobins