Background: Infection with Helicobacter pylori is associated with a variety of non-gastrointestinal sequelae. These may be mediated by an increase in systemic inflammation. We assessed if serologic evidence of infection with H. pylori is associated with increased serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels.
Methods: The study design consisted of a randomly selected, cross-sectional population-based study of 2633 individuals phenotyped in 1991, of whom 2361 participants provided serum samples to permit measurement of H. pylori's serologic status and CRP levels.
Results: Male gender (odds ratio (OR): 1.65; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.23-2.21), age (OR per year: 1.05; 95% CI: 1.04-1.06), height (OR per meter: 0.05; 95% CI: 0.01-0.24), current smoking habit (compared with never smokers, OR: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.13-1.88), and less affluent socioeconomic status were associated with increased odds of being seropositive for H. pylori. Helicobacter pylori infection was associated with increased risk of having an elevated serum CRP (above 3 mg/L) after adjustment for gender, age, height, smoking status, and socioeconomic status (OR: 1.32; 95% CI: 1.05-1.67). Similar associations were seen using a threshold for elevated serum CRP of greater than 1 mg/L.
Conclusions: Our data suggest that infection with H. pylori is associated with increased systemic inflammation. This suggests one potential mechanism to explain the extra-gastrointestinal conditions associated with H. pylori infection.