Association of Helicobacter pylori infection with lifestyle, chronic disease, body-indices, and age at menarche in Danish adults

Abstract

This study examines the association between lifestyle factors, chronic disease, body-indices, and the seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in Danish adults. The relationship between age at menarche and H. pylori infection is also assessed. A random sample of 3,608 Danish adults completed a questionnaire about lifestyle factors (smoking habits, alcohol consumption, and coffee and tea intake), doctor diagnosed chronic diseases (heart conditions, diabetes, chronic bronchitis, and hypertension), menarche, and socio-demographic factors. A total of 2,913 participants were eligible for the present study. Electrocardiographs were recorded and blood pressure and serum lipid levels (HDL cholesterol, triglyceride, and cholesterol) were measured. Height and weight were determined and body mass index (BMI) calculated. Sera were analysed with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the presence of H. pylori specific IgG antibodies. The seroprevalence of H. pylori infection was associated with weekly alcohol intake > or = 6 drinks (odds ratio 0.7, 95% confidence interval 0.6-0.9) due to a low rate of H. pylori infection among wine drinkers (odds ratio 0.6, 95% confidence interval 0.5-0.7). No associations were found with smoking habits or serum lipids. People with upper quartile BMI (> or = 26.8 kg/m2) were more likely to be seropositive for antibodies to H. pylori (odds ratio 1.6, 95% confidence interval 1.1-2.4). Chronic bronchitis (odds ratio 1.6, 95% confidence interval 1.1-2.5) and unspecified heart condition (odds ratio 2.0, 95% confidence interval 1.1-3.3) was more often seen in IgG seropositive women than in uninfected women. The likelihood of being seropositive for IgG antibodies to H. pylori increased with age at menarche (odds ratio per year 1.10, 95% confidence interval 1.02-1.19). Previously reported associations with age and socioeconomic status were confirmed. We conclude that wine drinking is associated with lower rates of H. pylori infection in Danish adults. The seroprevalence of H. pylori infection is increased in people with high BMI. H. pylori infection may relate to a history of late menarche and chronic bronchitis in Danish women.

Serological evidence ofLegionellaspecies infection in acute exacerbation of COPD

“…This finding could be of interest if further studies confirm that preliminary report, since H. pylori seropositivity has been reported to be common both in chronic bronchitis [20] and bronchiectasis [21]. In fact, chronic bronchitis has been identified as a predictive factor of seropositivity for IgG antibodies to H. pylori [22].…”

Randomised clinical trial: Helicobacter pylori eradication is associated with a significantly increased body mass index in a placebo-controlled study

“…1 Some recent studies with representative populations have also observed an association of H. pylori infection with BMI, [2][3][4] whereas others, such as the NHANES III study, have not. 5 These conflicting results highlight the difficulties in identifying an association with cross-sectional study designs, where individuals differ by factors other than H. pylori infection status, for example, age and gender, so potentially confounding the association.…”

Predictors of Age at Menarche in the Newcastle Thousand Families Study

“…Age at menarche is an important marker of reproductive maturation and has been shown to predict adult ovarian function (Apter, 1996;Windham et al, 2002) and risk for diseases in adulthood including breast cancer (Apter et al, 1989), rheumatoid arthritis (Karlson et al, 2004) and low bone mass (Ito et al, 1995). Previous studies have investigated associations between the timing of menarche and birth weight (Cooper et al, 1996;Persson et al, 1999;Adair, 2001;Romundstad et al, 2003;dos Santos Silva et al, 2004), prematurity (Bhargava et al, 1995), birth order (Malina et al, 1997;Apraiz, 1999;Padez, 2003), infant feeding practices (Novotny et al, 2003), childhood adiposity (dos Santos Silva et al, 2002;Anderson et al, 2003;Ersoy et al, 2004), acute and chronic illness (Khan et al, 1996;Rosenstock et al, 2000), stressful circumstances (Kim & Smith, 1998;Tahirovic, 1998) and socioeconomic status (Billewicz et al, 1983;Chavarro et al, 2004). However, these studies have produced inconsistent findings and have not considered all these factors in the same study population.…”