Is there any relationship between H. pylori gastritis and mucosal esophagitis?

Background Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and H.Pylori gastritis are common seen in childhood. In the literature, it was found that the incidence of H. pylori infection in patients with GERD was between 30-90%. Coexistence of two diseases is one of the topic and controversial issue in these days. In our study; we aimed to assess the prevalence of GERD in pediatric patients with and without H. pylori gastritis, and investigate whether H. pylori infection is a risk factor for GERD. Methods The patients undergoing endoscopic examination in Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Medicine, Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition clinic between January 2009 - January 2019 included in the study. The data of patients were recorded from the hospital files retrospectively. The patients were divided in two groups according to whether H. pylori infection positive and negative. GERD frequency, indication of endoscopy and demographic characteristics were compared. Results Among the 4337 patients (55.5% female, mean age ± SD; 9.5 ± 4.4 years, range; 6 months-19 years), 348 patients (8%) had GERD, and 779 patients (18%) had H. pylori gastritis. There was no significant difference in gender between patients with H. pylori positive and negative (p>0.05). We determined that the age of patients with H. pylori gastritis was older (p=0.000). The prevalence of GERD in the H. pylori negative patients was 8.4% compared to 6.2% in the H. pylori positive patients [OR, 0.71 95% CI (0.52-0.98), p = 0.030]. Conclusions Our study showed that H. pylori infection had a protector role for GERD. We could not evaluate the patients reflux symptoms after H. pylori eradication therapy. Therefore, further prospective studies are needed