Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) Infection-Associated Anemia in the Asir Region, Saudi Arabia

H. pylori (ubiquitous) and anemia together represent one of the growing health concerns globally. Gastroduodenal sequelae of H. pylori infection are distinguished; however, for the H. pylori infection and its implication in the development of anemia, iron has a significant health impact. We aimed to evaluate H. pylori infection-associated anemia by employing a logistic regression analysis model. A retrospective (case-control) study design-based assessment of the H. pylori associated-anemia. The study area was geo-referenced by QGIS/QuickMapServies. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were accomplished using the R-base-R-studio (v-4.0.2)-tidyverse. A p-value < 0.05 was the statistical significance cut-off value. A ggplot2 package was used for data representation and visualization. Mean & PLUSMN; SD age, Hb, MCV, ferritin, and RBC for overall study participants were measured to be 44.0 & PLUSMN; 13.58, 13.84 & PLUSMN; 2.49, 83.02 & PLUSMN; 8.31, 59.42 & PLUSMN; 68.37, and 5.14 & PLUSMN; 0.75, respectively. Decreased levels of Hb (infected vs. uninfected: 13.26 & PLUSMN; 2.92 vs. 14.42 & PLUSMN; 1.75, p < 0.001) ferritin (infected vs. uninfected: 48.11 & PLUSMN; 63.75 vs. 71.17 & PLUSMN; 71.14, p < 0.001), and MCV (infected vs. uninfected: 81.29 & PLUSMN; 9.13 vs. and 84.82 & PLUSMN; 6.93, p < 0.05) were measured to be associated with H. pylori infection when compared with H. pylori uninfected control group. Moreover, the magnitude (prevalence) of anemia (infected vs. uninfected: 78% vs. 21%, p < 0.001), iron deficiency anemia (IDA) (infected vs. uninfected: 63.3% vs. 36.6%, p < 0.001), and microcytic anemia (infected vs. uninfected: 71.6% vs. 46.1%, p < 0.001) were significantly different among the H. pylori-infected participants. The higher likelihood of developing anemia (AOR; 4.98, 95% CI; 3.089-8.308, p < 0.001), IDA (AOR; 3.061, 95% CI; 2.135-4.416, p < 0.001), and microcytic anemia (AOR; 3.289, 95% CI; 2.213-4.949, p < 0.001) by 398%, 206.1%, and 229%, respectively, was associated with H. pylori-infected. We recommend the regular monitoring of hematological parameters and eradication of H. pylori infection to minimize the extra-gastric health consequences of H. pylori infection.