Diabetic patients infected with helicobacter pylori have a higher Insulin Resistance Degree

The association of H.pylori (HP) and insulin resistance degree (IR) has not been evaluated in the diabetic patients so far. In this study, we evaluated the association between HP seropositivity and the homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in diabetic patients.

In this study, 211 diabetic patients admitted to the endocrinology clinic of Shahid Beheshti Hospital of Qom for routine diabetic check-ups were evaluated. The patients were divided into HP(+) and HP(-) groups based on the seropositivity of helicobacter pylori IgG antibody. The serum H. pylori IgG antibody, blood sugar, serum insulin, HbA1c, LDL, HDL, cholesterol, triglyceride, HOMA-IR and BMI were measured.

The mean age of 72 HP(-) patient was 51.5±8.3 and 139 HP+ subjects was 53.5±9 years (P=0.128). The mean HDL in HP(-) cases was 69.2±29.2 mg/dl and for HP+ cases was 60.7±26.7 mg/dl (P=0.037). The mean serum insulin in HP(-) was 60.97±5.64 and HP(+) subjects was 10.12±7.72IU/ml (P=0.002). The Homa-IR degree for HP(-) cases was 3.2±3.3 and for HP(+) cases was 4.5±3.8 (P=0.013). There were no significant differences between these groups according to the short-term or the long-term indices of glycemic control as well as most of the diabetic risk factors or complications. The treatment type was also not significantly different between these groups.

It seems that the HP(+) diabetic patients require higher levels of serum insulin to reach the same degree of glycemic control compared to the HP(-) ones.