Association between metabolic syndrome and Helicobacter pylori infection: A myth or a fact? A cross-sectional study.

Byline: Varun. Shetty, H. Kishan Prasad, Aashish. Konamme, K. Shetty, Ganaraj. Kulamarva

Aim: To determine the association between Helicobacter pylori and metabolic syndrome. Methods: This study comprised 31 study subjects whose biopsies were positive for H. pylori. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG), body mass index, serum triglycerides, serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and blood pressure were estimated in this group. Abnormalities in at least three of the five parameters were considered to be metabolic syndrome. Results: The results showed a significant association between H. pylori and metabolic syndrome, based on P = 0.007 (<0.05) in the Chi-square test. There was also an insignificant correlation between sex and metabolic syndrome (P = 0.576). A large percentage of the study group had high FPG (67.74%), low serum HDL (77.42%), and hypertension (87.10%). 78.2% of the study group had metabolic syndrome. Conclusion: The present study suggests that H. pylori gastritis is significantly associated with metabolic syndrome. It is recommended to do further research using a larger sample size to explore the relationship between Metabolic syndrome and H. pylori infection. The H. pylori eradication can be used as a tool in the prevention and treatment of metabolic syndrome.

Introduction

Helicobacter pylori is a Gram-negative, microaerophilic bacillus, usually found in the stomach. More than 50% of the world's population have H. pylori in their upper gastrointestinal tract.[1] The recent literature shows that 80% of individuals infected with H. pylori are asymptomatic. The rest of the 20% are symptomatic, showing symptoms of either acute gastritis such as nausea and abdominal pain or those of chronic gastritis such as abdominal pain, nausea, bloating, belching, vomiting, and melena.[2] H. pylori is known to be strongly associated with peptic ulcers, gastric carcinoma, and lymphoma. In tropical and semitropical countries, H. pylori infection is associated with duodenal ulcer being the predominant manifestation.[3] The disease is more common in developing countries in comparison to the developed Western nations.[4] India is a prototypical developing country as far as H. pylori infection is concerned, with an estimated population of >20 million Indians suffering from peptic ulcer disease.

Metabolic syndrome is a clustering of at least three of the five following medical conditions, namely, abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, elevated serum triglycerides, and low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels. Metabolic syndrome is associated with the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease.[5],[6] Age-standardized prevalence rates of the metabolic syndrome were 33.5% overall, 24.9% in males, and 42.3% in females. Old age, female gender, obesity, improper diet, hypercholesterolemia, and middle-to-high socioeconomic status significantly contributed to risk of metabolic syndrome. It is a significant public health problem in developing and developed countries.[7] There is a lack of research on the possible association between H. pylori infection and metabolic syndrome in developing countries like India. The purpose of our study is to determine the association between metabolic syndrome and H. pylori infection. If an association is established between the two, suitable measures can be taken to prevent the disease from progressing, thus reducing the...