Helicobacter pylori infection increases the risk of colorectal adenomas: cross-sectional study and meta-analysis

The studies concerning the association between Helicobacter pylori status and colorectal adenoma, premalignant lesions of colorectal cancers, are not consistent.

This cross-sectional study investigated the association of colorectal adenoma with H. pylori infection in a consecutive series of 2,195 asymptomatic average-risk subjects who underwent screening colonoscopy and H. pylori testing. Multivariate analyses were adjusted for potential relevant confounders, including age, sex, smoking, alcohol consumption, family history of colorectal cancer, and regular use of aspirin. Furthermore, we performed a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of available studies, including the current study, to clarify whether H. pylori infection is associated with an increased risk of colorectal adenoma.

Among 2,195 eligible subjects, 1,253 subjects were H. pylori seropositive and 942 subjects were seronegative. In the H. pylori (+) group, the prevalence of colorectal adenoma and advanced adenoma was significantly higher than in the H. pylori (-) group (25.3 vs. 20.1 %, p = 0.004 and 6.1 vs. 2.9 %, p < 0.001, respectively). In our multivariate analysis, H. pylori seropositivity was an independent risk factor for overall colorectal adenoma (OR = 1.36, 95 % CI = 1.10-1.68) and advanced adenoma (OR = 2.21, 95 % CI = 1.41-3.48). The positive association was confined in cases with any proximal adenoma. In the meta-analysis, which included ten studies and 15,863 patients, the pooled OR for colorectal adenoma related to H. pylori infection was 1.58 (95 % CI = 1.32-1.88).

Our results from this cross-sectional study and current studies included in our meta-analysis indicated that H. pylori infection was associated with a modest increase in the risk for colorectal adenoma.