AUTHOR=Ma Zheng Feei , Majid Noorizan A. , Yamaoka Yoshio , Lee Yeong Yeh 

TITLE=Food Allergy and Helicobacter pylori Infection: A Systematic Review

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2016.00368

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2016.00368

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Introduction:</bold> Based on the hygiene hypothesis, a low prevalence of <italic>Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)</italic> infection may explain the recent high prevalence of allergic diseases including food allergy. However, there are very few studies that investigate the relationship between <italic>H. pylori</italic> and food allergy.</p><p><bold>Summary:</bold> We searched for PubMed, Ovid Medline and the Cochrane library for relevant articles published in English from inception to November 2015. The inverse relationship between <italic>H. pylori</italic> and food allergy remains unproven because of contradictory and limited evidence at the moment. Likewise, only limited studies have examined the relationship between CagA; one of <italic>H. pylori</italic> virulence factor and food allergy. On the other hand, <italic>in vitro</italic> evidence seems to point out a role of <italic>H. pylori</italic> in the causation of food allergy. The inconsistent results from epidemiological data may be due to small sample size, heterogeneous populations and unstandardised methods or food allergens.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Available studies do not support the role of <italic>H. pylori</italic> in food allergy.</p>