Association of Iron Deficiency Anemia in Helicobacter pylori-Infected Pregnant Women and vacA Allele Distribution in Sana'a, Yemen
Keywords:
H. pylori, Pregnant women, Anemia, Iron Deficiency Anemia, vacA, YemenAbstract
Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a causative agent of several gastrointestinal disorders and is associated with iron deficiency anemia (IDA). This study examined the association between H. pylori and IDA among Yemeni pregnant women and assessed vacA s1/m1 alleles in IDA isolates.
Methods: Pregnant women were assessed for H. pylori using a stool antigen rapid test, and a subset was evaluated for hemoglobin and serum ferritin levels. H. pylori isolated from participants with IDA were analyzed for vacA s1 and m1 using PCR.
Results: Out of 184 pregnant women, H. pylori was detected in 76.1% (n=140), of which 46.4% (n=65) had anemia. Serum ferritin was measured in 48 H. pylori anemic patients, of whom 47.9 % (n = 23) had IDA. Among the 23 H. pylori isolates from IDA, vacA s1 was detected in 78.3% (n=18), while vacA m1 was not detected in any sample.
Conclusion: No significant association was found between H. pylori and IDA in this study. Further studies with larger sample sizes and multiple IDA diagnostic tools are warranted to clarify this relationship during pregnancy.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Wed Hafedh Al-Nod, Abdul-Raoof Mohammad Alshawkany, Saeed Munassar Alghalibi, Hafiz Abdulhameed Al-Nood, Abdulrahman Ali Zabad (Author)
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