Tsegaye, Aster (PhD)Tesfay, Mheret2018-07-022023-11-062018-07-022023-11-062017-05http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/5268Background: Some epidemiological and experimental data point to the protective effect of Helicobacter pylori infection against the development of many extra-gastric diseases, including gastroesophageal reflux disease and its associated outcomes, childhood asthma and allergy. There is scarcity of data concerning this in Ethiopia. Objective: To assess the association of Helicobacter pylori infection with atopy and allergic disorders in Ziway, Central Ethiopia Methods and materials: Health facilities and school based cross sectional study was conducted from October 2016 to January 2017, Ziway, Ethiopia. A total of 461 children were enrolled in the study. Participant‟s socio-demographic and clinical information was collected using International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire. Skin prick test was done; blood and stool samples were collected from each participant. Automated WBC and manual eosinophil count were performed from EDTA blood while total serum IgE, H. Pylori stool antigen test and serum antibody test were determined using ELISA technique. Descriptive statistics were used to express the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants. Binary logistic regression was computed to assess association between variables using SPSS version 20 for windows. P < 0.05 were taken as statistically significant. Results: The overall prevalence of past and current H.pylori infection was 70.3% and 5.2%, respectively. The overall prevalence of any sensitization was 2.4%. Our result also did not show the protective effect of the bacteria. There was no association between past H.pylori infection and atopic sensitization and allergic conditions (OR 1.58, 95% CI 0.44, 5.70 (P=0.48) and OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.56, 1.62 (P=0.86), respectively) and the current infection of H. pylori was not associated with allergic conditions with OR 1.81, 95% CI 0.53, 6.22 (P=0.35). In this study the IgE levels were elevated in current H.pylori infected atopic participants. Conclusion: In this study we didn‟t find any significant association between past and current H.pylori infection with atopy or allergic conditions. Further studies with high quality longitudinal cohort are needed to map every possible correlates of the infection. Keywords: Helicobacter pylori, Atopy, Allergy, IgEenHelicobacter pyloriAtopyAllergyThesis