Association Between Helicobacter pylori Infection and Iron Deficiency Anemia in Adult Patients Attending a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) has been increasingly associated with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, especially in developing countries. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the association between H. pylori infection and IDA severity and to compare hematological parameters between H. pylori-positive and -negative adult patients attending a tertiary care hospital. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional analytical study conducted at Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, from January 2025 to December 2025. Consecutive non-probability sampling was used to recruit a total of 236 adult patients with IDA. Stool antigen testing was used to diagnose infection with H. pylori. Hematological parameters, such as hemoglobin, serum ferritin, serum iron, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), and mean corpuscular volume (MCV), were determined. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics, version 26, while the chi-square test and independent t-test were used to determine the association of the data. Results: H. pylori infection was positive in 136 (57.63%) patients and negative in 100 (42.37%). A significant association was observed between infection and moderate-to-severe anemia (p < 0.001, odds ratio (OR) = 2.58). Hemoglobin levels were significantly lower in infected patients (9.31 ± 1.42 vs. 10.72 ± 1.39 g/dL, p < 0.001). Similarly, serum ferritin (11.02 ± 5.10 vs. 19.48 ± 6.25 ng/mL, p < 0.001), serum iron (40.65 ± 11.02 vs. 59.37 ± 12.10 µg/dL, p < 0.001), TIBC (415.28 ± 39.21 vs. 354.62 ± 40.85 µg/dL, p < 0.001), and MCV (70.84 ± 6.72 vs. 78.91 ± 6.88 fL, p < 0.001) also showed statistically significant differences between groups. Conclusion: IDA severity and hematologic parameters are significantly associated with H. pylori infection in adult patients.