*Article* **Association between Dietary Habits and** *Helicobacter pylori* **Infection among Bahraini Adults**

**Fatema Habbash 1,2,\*, Tariq Abdulkarim Alalwan 3, Simone Perna 3,\*, Naila Ahmed 4,5, Omar Sharif 4,5, Adel Al Sayyad 1,6, Clara Gasparri 7, Cinzia Ferraris <sup>8</sup> and Mariangela Rondanelli 9,10,\***


**Abstract:** Helicobacter pylori (*H. Pylori*) infection is the main bacterial cause of several gastrointestinal disorders. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of *H. pylori* infection in a population of Bahraini adults seeking care in gastroenterology clinics in a tertiary care hospital in the Kingdom of Bahrain and examine the association between dietary habits and other factors with *H. pylori* infection. The study is a hospital-based retrospective, cross-sectional analytical study that included 200 participants. *H. pylori* infection prevalence among the studied group was 55.5%, and it was significantly higher among participants with a high school education or less (44.1%). Among dietary habits, the mean of frequency of green tea, coffee and honey intake was significantly lower among the *H. pylori* infected participants compared to their non-infected counterparts. *H. pylori* infection was significantly higher among participants with vitamin D deficiency (63.6%) compared to participants with normal vitamin D (30%) (*p* = 0.001) and each unit decrease in serum vitamin D was associated with an increased risk of infection by 1.1 times (OR = 1.1; 95% CI: 1.05, 1.18; *p* < 0.001). The study revealed that high educational levels, consumption of honey, green tea, and coffee, as well as normal serum vitamin D level, were independent protectors against *H. pylori* infection. Additional studies are needed to estimate the prevalence and predisposing factors of *H. pylori* infection in the general population.

**Keywords:** dietary habits; *Helicobacter pylori*; socio-demographic factors; biochemical measurement; vitamin D; Bahrain
