title: The impact of Helicobacter pylori on atopic disorders in childhood.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori in Western populations has steadily decreased. This has been suggested as one of the factors involved in the recent increase of asthma and allergy. Some studies have reported a negative association between H. pylori and asthma and allergy, but data are inconsistent and there are a few studies in children.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We investigated whether the prevalence of H. pylori was associated with asthma symptoms, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis in childhood.
  
  
  METHODS
  We determined IgG anti-H. pylori and CagA antibodies in serum of Dutch children, who took part in the PIAMA birth cohort study. Serum was collected from 545 children, aged 7-9 years (Dutch ethnicity 91.5%). Symptoms of asthma and atopy were assessed by yearly questionnaires. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found 9%H. pylori and 0.9% CagA seropositivity. Twelve (5.9%) children with reported wheezing ever were H. pylori positive, compared to 37 (10.9%) of the non-wheezers (p = .05). No significant differences in H. pylori prevalence were found between children with or without allergic rhinitis (8.5% vs 9.5%), atopic dermatitis (8.7% vs 9.2%), and physician-diagnosed asthma (7.1% vs 9.4%). Multivariate analysis showed no significant associations between H. pylori seropositivity and wheezing (OR 0.52; 95% CI 0.25-1.06), allergic rhinitis (OR 0.96; 95% CI 0.51-1.81), atopic dermatitis (OR 1.05; 95% CI 0.56-1.98) or physician-diagnosed asthma (OR 0.87; 95% CI 0.37-2.08).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found a borderline significantly lower H. pylori seropositivity in children with wheezing compared to non-wheezers, but no association between H. pylori serum-antibody status and allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, or asthma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus MC University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. i.holster@erasmusmc.nl
authors.forename: I Lisanne
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: Holster
authors.forename: Anne Marie J
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Vila
authors.forename: Daan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Caudri
authors.forename: Caroline M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: den Hoed
authors.forename: Guillermo I
authors.initials: GI
authors.lastname: Perez-Perez
authors.forename: Martin J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Blaser
authors.forename: Johan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: de Jongste
authors.forename: Ernst J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Kuipers
mesh_terms: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D001249:Asthma / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D002648:Child; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012221:Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial