Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and its association with cardiovascular risk factors in Korean adults

Objective: The purpose of this Study is to evaluate the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and its association with cardiovascular risk factors in healthy Korean adults. In 58981 subjects who participated in health screening program, the proportion of seropositive subjects for H. pylori and its association with cardiovascular risk factors was evaluated. Results: A total of 70.9% of participants were tested positive for the H. pylori antibody. The seropositivity was highest in the age group of 50 and 60 years old. More male subjects tended to be infected with H. pylori (p < 0.05) than female subjects except for the age group of 50s. H. pylori seropositive Subjects tended to be older than seronegative subjects (41.5 vs. 39.2 years old). After adjusting for age, H. pylori-seropositive group showed higher mean values for total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, apolipoprotein B and lower values for high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, apolipoprotein A1 (p < 0.05). In univariate correlation analysis, age, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and apolipoprotein B were positively correlated and HDL-cholesterol and apolipoprotein A1 were negatively correlated with H. pylori immunoglobulin G (IgG) titers (p < 0.05). The Multiple analysis of covariance analysis (MANCOVA) for the H. pylori infection status showed triglyceride, HDL-cholesterol and apolipoproteins associated with H. pylori infection significantly (p < 0.05). In the analysis performed only in the H. pylori-seropositive group, no difference between the groups with and without peptic ulcer were shown according to the risk factors except HDL-cholesterol (p=0.031). Conclusions: H. pylori infection is prevalent in Korean adults and is associated with cardiovascular risk factors, especially with triglyceride, HDL-cholesterol and apolipoproteins, independently from the presence of peptic ulcer. This is in line with the previous study results in which H. pylori infection per se might be one of the factors affecting atherosclerosis through modulation of lipid profiles, which needs further research. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.