Current status of Helicobacter pylori association with haematological and cardiovascular diseases: A mini review

Abstract

Helicobacter pylori infection is considered the most commonly prevalent gastrointestinal pathogen where it manages to survive despite the hostile environment of human stomach, leading to various gastric diseases including gastric cancer. Due to the chronic inflammatory state induced by H. pylori and its interaction with host immune system have diverted researchers to investigate its correlation with systemic diseases outside of the gastrointestinal tract. This literature review was done to explore the association of H. pylori infection with haematological and cardiovascular diseases. We used medical subject heading (MeSH) terms "Helicobacter pylori" with "inflammation," "haematological diseases," "coronary heart diseases" or "vascular diseases" to search PubMed database. All relevant studies identified from 2005 to 2015 were included. As many of the studies are small-scale or showed weak association, further studies are needed to address the role of H. pylori in pathogenesis of haematological and cardiovascular diseases.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori, Iron deficiency anaemia, Thrombocytopenia, Coronary heart disease, Host-immune response..