Associations between Helicobacter pylori with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and other metabolic conditions in Guatemala

Christian S Alvarez; Andrea A Florio; Julia Butt; Alvaro Rivera-Andrade; María F Kroker-Lobos; Tim Waterboer; Maria Constanza Camargo; Neal D Freedman; Barry I Graubard; Mariana Lazo; Eliseo Guallar; John D Groopman; Manuel Ramírez-Zea; Katherine A McGlynn

doi:10.1111/hel.12756

Associations between Helicobacter pylori with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and other metabolic conditions in Guatemala

Helicobacter. 2020 Dec;25(6):e12756. doi: 10.1111/hel.12756. Epub 2020 Oct 2.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD, USA.
² Infections and Cancer Epidemiology, Infection, Inflammation and Cancer Research Program, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
³ Research Center for the Prevention of Chronic Diseases, Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP), Guatemala City, Guatemala.
⁴ Division of General Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁵ Urban Health Collaborative, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁶ Department of Epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁷ Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have suggested an association between Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The aim of the current study was to examine the association in Guatemala, a region with elevated prevalences of both H pylori and NAFLD. Associations between H pylori and other metabolic conditions were also examined, as were associations between H hepaticus and H bilis and the metabolic conditions.

Materials & methods: The analysis included 424 participants from a cross-sectional study in Guatemala. H pylori seropositivity was defined as positivity for ≥ 4 antigens. Seropositivities for H bilis and H hepaticus were defined as positivity for ≥ 2 antigens. NAFLD was estimated using the Fatty Liver Index and the Hepatic Steatosis Index. Other conditions examined were obesity, central obesity, hypercholesterolemia, low HDL, diabetes and metabolic syndrome (MetSyn). Prevalence odds ratios (POR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated.

Results: No overall associations between H pylori,H hepaticus, or H bilis and NAFLD or related metabolic conditions were found. Seropositivity for H pylori antigens CagA and VacA and H hepaticus antigen HH0713 was each significantly associated with NAFLD, however. In addition, associations were observed between the H pylori antigens HyuA, HP1564, and UreA and specified metabolic conditions.

Conclusions: While no overall associations between H pylori or Helicobacter species with NAFLD or related conditions were observed, some selected Helicobacter spp. antigens were associated with NAFLD. Further research is warranted to examine whether H. species are associated with any metabolic condition.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori; Helicobacter species; Guatemala; NAFLD.

MeSH terms

Aged
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Guatemala / epidemiology
Helicobacter Infections* / epidemiology
Helicobacter pylori
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease* / epidemiology

Abstract

MeSH terms

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