en Internal Internal Original Article Original Article <p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"><strong><em>Background:</em></strong></span> Until now, no study has been reported investigating the association between &beta;-thalassemia minor and <em>Helicobacter pylori</em> (<em>H. pylori)</em> infection. This study was designed to compare <em>H. pylori</em> infection rate between &beta;-thalassemia minor patients and healthy controls.<br> <span style="color:#0000FF;"><strong><em>Methods</em></strong><em>:</em></span> A number of 100 &beta;-thalassemia minor patients (50 males, 50 females) and 100 gender-matched healthy controls were prospectively recruited in this study in a period of 3 months. The study population consisted of the people who referred to a health center in Babol, North of Iran, for premarital counseling. <em>H. pylori</em> status was assessed by measuring the anti-<em>H. pylori</em> IgG antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Demographic information and informed consent were collected from all participants.<br> <span style="color:#0000FF;"><strong><em>Results:</em></strong></span> The overall <em>H. pylori</em> infection rate was 43%. The infection was significantly more prevalent in thalassemia patients (53%) than in the controls (33%) in both univariate (OR=2.29, 95% CI: 1.3-4.06) and multivariable analyses (OR=2.05, 95% CI: 1.12-3.76). Age was the only significant factor which was positively correlated with the infection in &beta;-thalassemia minor cases (OR=1.11, 95% CI: 1.02-1.2). Gender, blood groups, residency, and education level were not related to the infection.<br> <span style="color:#0000FF;"><strong><em>Conclusions:</em> </strong></span>According to the results, it can be concluded that &beta;-thalassemia minor patients are possibly more susceptible to <em>H. pylori</em> infection than healthy people. Further studies are needed to discover more about the exact mechanisms of increased susceptibility to <em>H. pylori</em> infection in &beta;-thalassemia minor patients</span></span></p> Helicobacter pylori, thalassemia minor, prevalence 54 59 http://caspjim.com/browse.php?a_code=A-10-120-7&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Mohammad Zamani mzamani20@gmail.com 100319475328460011113 100319475328460011113 No Student Research Committee, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran Amin Vahedi aminvahedi@hotmail.com 100319475328460011114 100319475328460011114 No Student Research Committee, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran Ahmad Tamaddoni drtamaddoni@yahoo.com 100319475328460011115 100319475328460011115 No Non-Communicable Pediatric Diseases Research Center, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran Ali Bijani alibijani@yahoo.com 100319475328460011116 100319475328460011116 No Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran Mojgan Bagherzade mojan73@yahoo.com 100319475328460011117 100319475328460011117 No Department of Immunology, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran Javad Shokri-Shirvani javadshokry@gmail.com 100319475328460011118 100319475328460011118 Yes Department of Internal Medicine, Rohani Hospital, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran