Changes in the activity of Helicobacter pylori-associated gastritis in schoolchildren with gastroesophageal reflux disease

The relevance of the analysis of functional disorders of the gastrointestinal tract in children is largely due to the possibility of early prevention of severe forms of its pathology.

The aim of the study was to determine changes in the activity of Helicobacter pylori-associated gastritis in schoolchildren with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Materials and methods. One thousand seventy nine children aged of 7–17 years were examined. Clinical manifestations of gastrointestinal pathology were identified in all children. An endoscopic examination of the upper gastrointestinal tract with a biopsy of the gastric mucosa was performed in 115 schoolchildren with gastroenterological complaints. Morphological diagnosis of gastritis and H. pylori infection was GERD (34 schoolchildren with GERD and 81 child without pathology), which was diagnosed in accordance with the children’s consensus. The significance of the feature differences was analyzed using the Pearson χ² criterion. The differences were considered to be significant at p < 0.05.

Results. The examined schoolchildren had gastritis of the 1^st degree of activity, both in the antrum and even more often in the mucous membrane of the stomach body. At the same time, there were no changes in the activity of gastritis in both parts of the stomach in children, depending on the presence of GERD. Gastritis associated with H. pylori infection was detected in 53.8% of GERD children and 58.7% of cases without GERD (p = 0.672). In H. pylori-positive children, an increase in gastritis activity was detected. In infected with H. pylori children with GERD, there was no significant increase in the activity of the inflammatory process in both parts of the stomach. However, in H. pylori-positive schoolchildren without GERD, both in the antrum and in the stomach, increased gastritis activity was observed (p = 0.038), primarily expressed in younger schoolchildren (p = 0.044) and Tuvinians (p = 0.039).

Conclusion. An increase in the activity of inflammation in the gastric mucosa in schoolchildren, regardless of the presence of clinical manifestations of GERD, is observed in gastritis associated with H. pylori infection.

Contribution:
Polivanova T.V. — concept and design of the study;
Polivanova T.V., Akhmetshin T.N., Selyutina G.V., Vshivkov V.A. — data collection and processing;
Vshivkov V.A. — statistical processing of the data;
Polivanova T.V. — writing the text;
Polivanova T.V., Akhmetshin T.N., Vshivkov V.A. — editing the text.
All co-authors — approval of the final version of the article, responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the article.

Acknowledgment. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: April 17, 2025
Accepted: May 20, 2025
Published: June 27, 2025

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