Intake of tea and risk of Helicobacter pylori infection, chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer disease: a systematic review
By Jingya Wang
It is common knowledge that Helicobacter pylori infection causes chronic gastric inflammation, which may progress to chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer disease. These diseases might then develop into gastric cancer. Some essential components in tea, like the EGCG, were reported to restrain Helicobacter pylori infection in mice models.
A large number of primary studies and systematic reviews on the association between tea intake and gastric cancer failed to observe any significant results. Recently, some researchers pointed out that Helicobacter pylori infection might only be a risk factor for chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer disease.
Furthermore, for patients without Helicobacter pylori infections, the role of tea on these diseases is still unclear. The association between intake of tea, Helicobacter pylori infection and gastritis/peptic ulcer disease has not been reviewed systematically. This systematic review aims to address this by studying whether tea exposure has any effect on gastritis, peptic ulcer disease and Helicobacter pylori infection by synthesizing existing evidence.
