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Could Helicobacter pylori infection increase the risk of coronary heart disease by modifying serum lipid
S Niemelä1, T Karttunen, T Korhonen
1Department of Internal Medicine, University of Oulu, Finland.
Insights
Helicobacter pylori infection may slightly increase coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, potentially by altering serum lipid levels. Further research is needed to confirm this link.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) infection is a common bacterial pathogen.
- Coronary heart disease (CHD) remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide.
- The potential link between H pylori infection and CHD risk is an area of ongoing investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between H pylori infection and the presence of coronary heart disease (CHD).
- To explore whether H pylori infection independently contributes to CHD risk.
- To examine the potential influence of H pylori on serum lipid profiles in relation to CHD.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study was conducted in Northern Finland.
- 116 patients with documented CHD and 116 matched controls were recruited.
- H pylori seropositivity was assessed, and odds ratios (OR) were calculated.
Main Results:
- H pylori seropositivity was observed in 64% of CHD patients and 53% of controls.
- The adjusted OR for H pylori infection and CHD was 1.5 (95% CI 0.9 to 2.5).
- H pylori-positive individuals showed altered serum lipid concentrations, with higher triglycerides and lower HDL cholesterol.
Conclusions:
- H pylori infection appears to have a minor role as an independent risk factor for CHD.
- The findings support the hypothesis that H pylori may modify lipid concentrations, potentially increasing CHD risk.
- Further studies are warranted to elucidate the mechanisms linking H pylori infection to cardiovascular health.
Objective:
To investigate the relation between Helicobacter pylori infection and coronary heart disease (CHD).
Design:
A case-control study.
Setting:
Northern Finland (about 650,000 inhabitants).
Patients:
116 patients with angiographically documented CHD and 116 controls matched for age and gender randomly recruited from the register of the Finnish Social Insurance Institute.
Main Outcome Measures:
The odds ratio (OR) estimates for the association of H pylori infection with CHD.
Results:
64% of the CHD patients and 53% of the controls were seropositive for H pylori; the OR adjusted for age and gender was 1.5 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.9 to 2.5). An additional adjustment for the common risk factors of CHD, including lipid concentrations, in a logistic regression analysis produced an OR estimate of 1.1 (95% CI 0.6 to 2.1). Among the controls, those who were H pylori positive had significantly (P = 0.03) higher concentrations of serum triglycerides than those who were H pylori negative: the trend among the cases was similar, but non-significant. The concentrations of HDL cholesterol tended to be lower in those who were H pylori positive than in those who were H pylori negative, among both the cases and the controls.
Conclusions:
The impact of H pylori infection as an independent risk factor for CHD seems to be minor. On the other hand the results are consistent with the hypothesis that H pylori infection might modify the serum lipid concentrations in a way that could increase the risk of CHD.