A CROSS SECTIONAL ANALYSIS OF VITAMIN B 12 DEFICIENCY IN PATIENTS WITH HELICOBACTER PYLORI INFECTION

Objective: To determine the frequency of vitamin B12 deficiency in patients with Helicobacter pylori infection. Methodology: This cross sectional descriptive study was conducted from 01-01-2015 to 30-06-2015 at Liaquat University Hospital Jamshoro / Hyderabad. All the patients of 19-60 years of age, of either gender with Helicobacter pylori infection for more than 02 weeks duration were further evaluated for serum vitamin B12 level. The data was analyzed in statistical software (SPSS) and the p-value ≤0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: During six months study period, total 340 (225 males and 115 females) Helicobacter pylori infected patients were enrolled and entered in the study. The vitamin B12 deficiency was observed in 236 (69.4%) subjects of which 148 (65.8%) were males and 88 (76.5%) were females. The mean ±SD for age of overall population was 42.94±9.86 years while the mean age ±SD for vitamin B12 deficient and non-deficient was 40.76±8.75 and 41.38±8.97 years respectively. The mean ± SD for duration of infection in overall population was 6.93±1.93 weeks while it was 6.72±2.30 and 6.54±1.75 weeks in vitamin B12 deficient and non-deficient individuals. The mean ± SD of vitamin B12 level in deficient and non-deficient population was 143.63±8.75 and 283.95±10.77 respectively. Conclusion: The Vitamin B12 deficiency is more pronounced in Helicobacter pylori infection. In present study vitamin B12 deficiency was observed in 236 (69.4%) patients with male predominance 148 (65.8%) Key Words: Helicobacter pylori, Vitamin B12, Megaloblastic anemia.