Abstract
Background
There is little information about the possible role of Helicobacter pylori infection on appetite-regulating peptides in children. This study evaluated the association between H. pylori infection and serum levels of ghrelin, leptin, and obestatin in schoolchildren.
Methods
One hundred seventy-eight schoolchildren, students at boarding schools in Mexico City, participated. H. pylori infection status was determined every 6 months for 1 year by a breath test using 13C-urea; schoolchildren with consistently positive or negative results were selected to participate. Age, sex, and body mass index (BMI) were recorded. Serum concentrations of total ghrelin, leptin, and obestatin via specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were determined.
Results
Schoolchildren with H. pylori infection had lower concentration of leptin, −0.54 pg/ml (95% CI: −0.98 to −0.09), compared to the schoolchildren without infection, after adjustment by age, gender, and BMI. And the children with the infection had a median of obestatin lower in 0.99 ng/ml (95% CI: −1.93 to −0.06) compared with the uninfected children after adjustment by BMI.
Conclusion
Association was found between H. pylori infection and decreased serum concentrations of leptin and obestatin. These results suggest that in schoolchildren, H. pylori infection affects the levels of hormones implicated in regulating appetite and energy homeostasis.
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Acknowledgements
We appreciate the assistance of Susan Drier-Jonas with the writing and Carole Bernard with the style correction of this manuscript. This study was funded by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia–CONACyT, Project No. 181707, and by Fondos Federales del Instituto Nacional de Pediatria, Project No. 087/2012. The main study was funded by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia–CONACyT, grant number 2004-01-074.
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Romo-González, C., Mendoza, E., Mera, R. et al. Helicobacter pylori infection and serum leptin, obestatin, and ghrelin levels in Mexican schoolchildren. Pediatr Res 82, 607–613 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/pr.2017.69
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/pr.2017.69
