The present study was designed to determine the association of the smoking with H. pylori infection by conducting a meta analysis of literature. A comprehensive in depth search was conducted on following search engines: Pubmed, EMBASE, Google Scholar, Medscape, Plosone and Scopus. The following terms were used as keywords in the database search: “Helicobacter pylori”, “Smoking”, “association”, “cohort”, “case control”, “observational”, “cross sectional” till June 2011. Only reports fulfilling the following inclusion criteria were included in the metaanalysis. In the study conducted by Ahmad et al., 2006, the odds ratio was found out to be 1.371(0.760-2.471). The z value and p value were computed to be equal to 1.048 and 0.295 respectively. In the study conducted by Brenner et al., 2007, the odds ratio was found out to be 1.236(0.706-2.164). The z value and p value were computed to be equal to 0.743 and 0.458 respectively. In the study conducted by Karima et al., 2006, the odds ratio was found out to be 1.5(0.659-3.413). The z value and p value were computed to be equal to -0.967 and 0.334 respectively. In the study conducted by Modena et al., 2007, the odds ratio was found out to be 0.846(0.355-2.015). The z value and p value were computed to be equal to -0.378 and 0.705 respectively. In the study conducted by Maoyeddi et al., 2002, the odds ratio was found out to be 10.932(6.508-18.363). The z value and p value were computed to be equal to 9.038 and 0.07 respectively. In the study conducted by Nurgalieva et al., 2004, the odds ratio was found out to be 1.5(0.659-3.413). The z value and p value were computed to be equal to -0.378 and 0.705 respectively. In the study conducted by Pillay et al., 2007, the odds ratio was found out to be 6.768(4.398-10.415). The z value and p value were computed to be equal to 8.695 and 0.06 respectively. In the study conducted by Khan et al., 2007, the odds ratio was found out to be 1.236(0.706-2.164). The z value and p value were computed to be equal to 0.743 and 0.458 respectively. In the study conducted by Zhang et al., 2009, the odds ratio was found out to be 1.217(0.455- 3.260). The z value and p value were computed to be equal to -0.391 and 0.696 respectively. Smoking has emerged as a major risk factor in modulating the susceptibility of an individual suffering with ulcers to H. pylori infection. Hence, a cue needs to be taken from the investigation and significant steps taken for its cessation to halt the progression of H. pylori infection. Findings from this meta-analysis suggest that there is a close relationship between cigarette smoking and H. pylori infection.
