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  • Investigating the prevalence and correlation of pernicious anemia in patients with Helicobacter pylori infection
  • Sajede Saharkhiz,1,* Sara Shahraeini,2
    1. Student Research Committee, Faculty of Paramedicine, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Gonabad, Iran
    2. Student Research Committee, Faculty of Paramedicine, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Gonabad, Iran


  • Introduction: Pernicious anemia is a chronic condition indicated by the impaired absorption of vitamin B12 due to the autoimmune destruction of parietal cells in the stomach, resulting in intrinsic factor deficiency, that causes life-threatening complications. Recent research has expressed a potential link between pernicious anemia and Helicobacter pylori infection, a common bacterium that colonizes the stomach lining, neutralizing gastric acidity. Chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is identified as one of the factors contributing to both vitamin B12 deficiency and the subsequent development of PA. This has prompted our investigation into this connection. Our aim in this study is to investigate the relationship between pernicious anemia and Helicobacter pylori infection.
  • Methods: An extensive search of databases, including PubMed and Google Scholar, was conducted to identify relevant studies published until 2023. The search strategy involved a combination of keywords “Helicobacter pylori” and “pernicious anemia,” and related MeSH terms. Two independent reviewers screened the identified studies and extracted data. Eligible studies must be original and published in English. The exclusion criterion was the lack of access to the complete file of the study.
  • Results: By analyzing the data from the studies included in this review, 145 individuals (39.5%) of the 367 patients with pernicious anemia had H. pylori-positive results, so it can be considered that chronic H. pylori infection was associated with the development of pernicious anemia. However, a causative role of H. pylori in pernicious anemia was not observed in two of the articles studied in Japan and Korea. Sixteen Japanese patients diagnosed with pernicious anemia with a mean age of 68.1 were examined for H. pylori infection and were all negative for H. pylori. Considering that the H. pylori-positive rate in the Japanese population of the same age (60 years) is 70-80%. Furthermore, the proportion of H. pylori-positive cases among Korean patients with pernicious anemia did not differ from that among the general population. The results of these two studies indicate that H. pylori infection did not play a major role in the development or progression of pernicious anemia.
  • Conclusion: Pernicious anemia poses a significant public health concern, with potentially life-threatening complications. This review provides evidence indicating a possible link between Helicobacter pylori infection and the development of pernicious anemia. Although studies conducted in East Asia indicate that the role of H. pylori in the development of pernicious anemia differs among ethnic groups and by region.
  • Keywords: Pernicious anemia, Anemia, Helicobacter pylori, H. pylori