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Objectives-The role of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) remains controversial, particularly in children, since there are limited published data. Adult studies suggested that H. pylori infection may protect against GERD by causing atrophic gastritis, which leads to reduced gastric acid secretion. The objective of our study was to determine the role of H. pylori infection in the development of GERD in a pediatric population.Methods-A retrospective analysis of 420 patients (M:F = 214:206) who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) with biopsies between January 2000 and April 2006 was conducted. Patient demographics, clinical indications for EGD and the prevalence of reflux esophagitis (RE), the biomarker for GERD, in two groups, H. pylori positive and H. pylori negative, were reviewed. The prevalence of RE in the H. pylori positive and H. pylori negative groups was further analyzed based on gender and age (< 1 yr, 1 -10 yrs, > 10 yrs). The mean age of the study population was 8.2 years (range 0 -20 yrs). The clinical indications for EGD were as follows: recurrent abdominal pain (n = 186, 44%), malabsorption (n = 80, 19%), persistent vomiting (n = 80, 19%), suspected eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (n = 63, 15%) and others such as upper GI bleeding or IBD surveillance (n = 11, 3%). Statistical analysis was performed by using Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test and multivariate logistical regression analysis.Results-Among the 420 patients, 16 patients (3.8%) were positive for H. pylori and 167 patients (39.8%) were found to have RE. Thirteen patients with H. pylori were found to have histologic evidence of RE. The prevalence of RE in the H. pylori positive population was 81.3% compared to 38.1% in the H. pylori negative population (p ≤ 0.05). There were no patients with H. pylori in the youngest age group. In the second age group (1-10 yrs), 100% of the H. pylori positive patients had RE while 44.6% of the H. pylori negative patients had RE (p ≤ 0.05). Both male and female patients with H. pylori had a higher prevalence of RE, 77.8% and 85.7% respectively. On a multivariate logistical regression, for the overall study cohort, H. pylori positive patients had an odds ratio of 5.79 of developing RE compared to H. pylori negative patients (p ≤ 0.05).Conclusions-Our study results indicate that there is a significantly higher prevalence of RE in an H. pylori-infected cohort independent of age or gender. The findings suggest that H. pylori infection in children is positively associated with RE.

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Background. In adults, it has been shown that obesity is associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and GERD-related complications. There are sparse pediatric data demonstrating associations between childhood overweight and GERD. Objective. To investigate the association between childhood overweight and RE. Methods. We performed a retrospective chart review of 230 children (M : F = 114  : 116) who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) with biopsies between January 2000 and April 2006. Patient demographics, weight, height, clinical indications for the procedure, the prevalence of BMI classification groups, the prevalence of RE and usage of anti-reflux medications were reviewed. For these analyses, the overweight group was defined to include subjects with BMI≥ 85th percentile. The normal weight group was defined to include subjects with BMI 5th to 85th percentile. Results. Among the 230 subjects, 67 (29.1%) had BMI percentiles above the 85th percentile for age and gender. The prevalence of RE in the overweight group did not differ significantly from that in the normal weight group (23.9% versus 24.5%, resp.). Overweight subjects taking anti-reflux medications clearly demonstrated a higher prevalence of biopsy-proven RE compared to overweight subjects not taking anti-reflux medications (34.1% versus 7.7%, P = .009). Conclusions. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of biopsy-proven RE in the overweight group compared to the normal weight group. However, the prevalence of RE was significantly higher in overweight subjects on anti-reflux medications compared to overweight subjects not taking anti-reflux medications. This finding emphasizes the importance of early recognition and treatment of GERD for the overweight pediatric patients with symptoms in conjunction with weight loss program for this population to reduce long-term morbidities associated with GERD.