Helicobacter pylori and Impaired Early Childhood Development—Evidence From a Birth Cohort Study From Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire

IF 4.6 2区医学 Q1 GASTROENTEROLOGY & HEPATOLOGY

Helicobacter Pub Date : 2025-10-31 DOI:10.1111/hel.70087

Kirsten Alexandra Eberhardt, Stefanie Schoppen, Carola Bindt, Stephan Ehrhardt, Yasmin Mohammed, Daniel Fordjour, Doris Kra-Yao, Carine Esther Bony Kotchi, Ekissi Jean Koffi Armel, Bernardin Ahouty Ahouty, Rebecca Hinz, John Appiah-Poku, Mathurin Koffi, Samuel Blay Nguah, Harry Tagbor, Eliezer N'Goran, Richard Odame Phillips, Tom Luedde, Dana Barthel, Torsten Feldt

{"title":"Helicobacter pylori and Impaired Early Childhood Development—Evidence From a Birth Cohort Study From Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire","authors":"Kirsten Alexandra Eberhardt, Stefanie Schoppen, Carola Bindt, Stephan Ehrhardt, Yasmin Mohammed, Daniel Fordjour, Doris Kra-Yao, Carine Esther Bony Kotchi, Ekissi Jean Koffi Armel, Bernardin Ahouty Ahouty, Rebecca Hinz, John Appiah-Poku, Mathurin Koffi, Samuel Blay Nguah, Harry Tagbor, Eliezer N'Goran, Richard Odame Phillips, Tom Luedde, Dana Barthel, Torsten Feldt","doi":"10.1111/hel.70087","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div>\n \n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Background</h3>\n \n <p><i>Helicobacter pylori</i> (<i>H. pylori</i>) infection is highly prevalent in low-resource settings and has been implicated in adverse health outcomes beyond the gastrointestinal tract, including potential effects on early neurodevelopment. However, data from sub-Saharan Africa is limited.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Methods</h3>\n \n <p>We conducted a prospective cohort study among 229 mother–child dyads from Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire to assess the association between <i>H. pylori</i> infection and early child development at 12 months of age. Child development was evaluated using the Developmental Milestones Checklist (DMC), encompassing locomotor, fine motor, language, and personal–social domains. <i>H. pylori</i> infection status was determined by stool antigen testing. Quantile regression models, adjusted for socioeconomic status and sex, were applied to analyze associations between <i>H. pylori</i> infection and DMC scores.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Results</h3>\n \n <p>Among 229 children, 38 (16.6%) tested positive for <i>H. pylori</i>. The median total motor score was higher in <i>H. pylori</i>-negative children (45, IQR 41–50) compared to positive children (43, IQR 40–45; <i>p</i> = 0.031). At the 75th percentile, <i>H. pylori</i> infection was significantly associated with a 7-point reduction in the motor domain score (estimate = −7; 95% CI: −11.1 to −2.9; <i>p</i> = 0.001; FDR-adjusted <i>p</i> = 0.003) and a 10-point reduction in total DMC score (estimate = −10; 95% CI: −17.5 to −2.6; <i>p</i> = 0.009; FDR-adjusted <i>p</i> = 0.027) after multivariable adjustment. No significant associations were observed at lower or median quantiles, nor in language or personal-social domains.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Conclusion</h3>\n \n <p><i>H. pylori</i> infection at 12 months of age is significantly associated with impaired motor development among children performing in the upper range of developmental achievement. These findings underscore the potential neurodevelopmental impact of early-life <i>H. pylori</i> infection in high-prevalence, resource-limited settings and highlight the importance of integrating infection control strategies into early childhood development programs. Further research is warranted to elucidate infection-related neurodevelopmental risks in early childhood.</p>\n </section>\n </div>","PeriodicalId":13223,"journal":{"name":"Helicobacter","volume":"30 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/hel.70087","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Helicobacter","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/hel.70087","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"GASTROENTEROLOGY & HEPATOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is highly prevalent in low-resource settings and has been implicated in adverse health outcomes beyond the gastrointestinal tract, including potential effects on early neurodevelopment. However, data from sub-Saharan Africa is limited.

Methods

We conducted a prospective cohort study among 229 mother–child dyads from Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire to assess the association between H. pylori infection and early child development at 12 months of age. Child development was evaluated using the Developmental Milestones Checklist (DMC), encompassing locomotor, fine motor, language, and personal–social domains. H. pylori infection status was determined by stool antigen testing. Quantile regression models, adjusted for socioeconomic status and sex, were applied to analyze associations between H. pylori infection and DMC scores.

Results

Among 229 children, 38 (16.6%) tested positive for H. pylori. The median total motor score was higher in H. pylori-negative children (45, IQR 41–50) compared to positive children (43, IQR 40–45; p = 0.031). At the 75th percentile, H. pylori infection was significantly associated with a 7-point reduction in the motor domain score (estimate = −7; 95% CI: −11.1 to −2.9; p = 0.001; FDR-adjusted p = 0.003) and a 10-point reduction in total DMC score (estimate = −10; 95% CI: −17.5 to −2.6; p = 0.009; FDR-adjusted p = 0.027) after multivariable adjustment. No significant associations were observed at lower or median quantiles, nor in language or personal-social domains.

Conclusion

H. pylori infection at 12 months of age is significantly associated with impaired motor development among children performing in the upper range of developmental achievement. These findings underscore the potential neurodevelopmental impact of early-life H. pylori infection in high-prevalence, resource-limited settings and highlight the importance of integrating infection control strategies into early childhood development programs. Further research is warranted to elucidate infection-related neurodevelopmental risks in early childhood.

Abstract Image

查看原文本刊更多论文

幽门螺杆菌和儿童早期发育受损——来自加纳和Côte科特迪瓦出生队列研究的证据

背景幽门螺杆菌（h.p ylori）感染在低资源环境中非常普遍，并且涉及胃肠道以外的不良健康结果，包括对早期神经发育的潜在影响。然而，来自撒哈拉以南非洲的数据有限。方法我们对来自加纳和Côte科特迪瓦的229对母子进行了前瞻性队列研究，以评估幽门螺杆菌感染与12月龄儿童早期发育之间的关系。使用发展里程碑检查表（DMC）评估儿童发展，包括运动、精细运动、语言和个人-社会领域。通过粪便抗原检测确定幽门螺杆菌感染状况。采用分位数回归模型，根据社会经济地位和性别进行调整，分析幽门螺杆菌感染与DMC评分之间的关系。结果229例患儿中，38例（16.6%）幽门螺杆菌阳性。幽门螺旋菌阴性患儿总运动评分中位数（45分，IQR 41 ~ 50分）高于阳性患儿（43分，IQR 40 ~ 45分，p = 0.031）。在第75百分位，幽门螺杆菌感染与多变量调整后运动域评分降低7分（估计= - 7;95% CI: - 11.1至- 2.9;p = 0.001；经fdr校正的p = 0.003）和DMC总分降低10分（估计= - 10;95% CI: - 17.5至- 2.6;p = 0.009；经fdr校正的p = 0.027）显著相关。在低分位数或中分位数，以及语言或个人-社会领域，没有观察到显著的关联。结论12月龄幽门螺杆菌感染与发育成就上界儿童运动发育障碍显著相关。这些发现强调了在高患病率、资源有限的环境中，早期幽门螺杆菌感染对神经发育的潜在影响，并强调了将感染控制策略整合到儿童早期发展计划中的重要性。需要进一步的研究来阐明儿童早期感染相关的神经发育风险。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Helicobacter 医学-微生物学

CiteScore

8.40

自引率

9.10%

发文量

审稿时长

2 months

期刊介绍： Helicobacter is edited by Professor David Y Graham. The editorial and peer review process is an independent process. Whenever there is a conflict of interest, the editor and editorial board will declare their interests and affiliations. Helicobacter recognises the critical role that has been established for Helicobacter pylori in peptic ulcer, gastric adenocarcinoma, and primary gastric lymphoma. As new helicobacter species are now regularly being discovered, Helicobacter covers the entire range of helicobacter research, increasing communication among the fields of gastroenterology; microbiology; vaccine development; laboratory animal science.