Negative-High Titer of Helicobacter pylori Antibody and Lipid Profiles

Helicobacter pylori (HP) is a causative factor for several gastrointestinal diseases. A HP seropositive antibody titer (i.e., ≥10 U/mL), a threshold indicating an HP infection, is known to be associated with changes in lipid metabolism. There is evidence that HP infection can be found in some individuals with HP antibody titer of between 3 and 9.9 U/mL (termed as "negative-high titer"). However, it is unknown about the relationship between HP negative-high titer and lipid metabolism. The present study aimed to quantify the association between HP negative-high antibody titer and lipid profiles.

We surveyed 2,478 people who underwent a Ningen Dock examination and had serological HP antibody data, from May 2016 to December 2020 at National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. Multiple regression models were used to quantify the association between HP antibody titer and serum lipid levels.

The adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval [CI]) for dyslipidemia in HP negative-high and positive titer was 1.24 (0.96, 1.79) and 1.36 (1.10, 1.68), respectively, compared with HP negative-low titer; p trend =0.005. The adjusted mean (95% CI) of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in HP negative-low, negative-high, and positive titer was 58.78 (57.86-59.71), 55.30 (53.70-56.91), and 53.76 (52.90-54.63) mg/dL, respectively; p trend <0.001. Higher HP antibody titers were also associated with higher ratio of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) to HDL-C, but not triglycerides, or total cholesterols.

The present cross-sectional study suggests that a HP negative-high antibody titer may be associated with dyslipidemia, HDL-C, and LDL-C to HDL-C ratio among Japanese Ningen Dock's participants.