A systematic review and meta-analysis published in The Journal of Pediatric Infectious Diseases revealed a link between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and an elevated risk of developing iron deficiency anemia in children. Utilizing Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, investigators sought to find out the link between H. pylori infection and iron deficiency anemia risk.

Various databases were searched to find out the relevant studies. With the aid of the Modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale,  the quality assessment of retrieved studies was done.  In total, 22 eligible studies (8 cross-sectional, 6  randomized control trials, 5 case-control, 2 surveys, and 1 cohort) with 4,455 controls  and 3,434 cases were incorporated.

In the random-effects model, H. pylori infection was reported to be linked with a greater risk of iron deficiency anemia  (odds ratio 1.70). According to the meta-regression assessment, none of the evaluated factors that may affect the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia attained statistical significance.

Substantial differences were reported between results when studies were categorized as per the methods used for H. pylori diagnosis and the level of incomes on the basis of World Bank classification. Thus, there may be an association between H. pylori infection and iron deficiency anemia risk in children. However, the GRADEpro Guideline Development Tool evidence for the risk of iron deficiency anemia was found to be of “moderate certainty.”