*2.5. Statistical Analysis*

Descriptive analysis was conducted and continuous variables were reported using Mean ± SD and for categorical variables we used frequencies with percentages. Unpaired *T*-Test and Chi squared tests were performed to explore the relationship of continuous and categorical variables with the dependent variable ('HPPI' (*H. pylori* positive infection) and 'HPNI' (*H. pylori* negative infection)). Binary logistic regression analysis was used to model the relationship of BMI after controlling for age and gender with the dependent variable. A *p* value of <0.05 was considered significant. The statistical analyses aforementioned were performed withe SPSS Software version 16.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).
