BACKGROUND: may have a protective effect against inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We integrated epidemiological data to identify the correlation between IBD and . Moreover, we analyzed whether IBD medication and classification affect , and whether eradication of leads to recurrence of IBD. METHODS: Articles published up to May 1, 2019, in three main databases including PubMed, MEDLINE and Embase, were searched. Study types included cross-sectional studies, retrospective studies and perspective studies, and data were combined and analyzed. Spearman correlation analysis and meta-analysis were performed after collecting and collating the relevant data. Sensitivity analysis and meta-regression were used to evaluate reliability and heterogeneity. RESULTS: Fifty-nine studies on IBD prevalence, 127 studies on prevalence, and 23 studies for meta-analysis were included. IBD, ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) were negatively correlated to prevalence (all <0.001). The meta-analysis results showed that compared to controls, the odds of having infection were 0.44, 0.36, 0.54 for IBD, CD and UC, respectively (OR=0.44, 95% CI=0.34-0.59; OR=0.36, 95% CI=0.26-0.49; OR=0.54, 95% CI=0.4-0.72). Moreover, IBD patients were 1.41 times (OR=1.41, 95% CI=1.25-1.58) more likely to relapse after eradication of . Finally, infection was not related to IBD medication and classification. CONCLUSION: prevalence was negatively correlated to IBD and had a protective effect against IBD. Furthermore, eradication of can lead to recurrence of IBD.