H. pylori infection associated with abdominal obesity in younger adults: BMC

A recent research found that abdominal obesity is strongly associated with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in individuals who were of 50 years or younger. This study published in the recent issue of BMC Infectious Diseases journal investigated the association between general obesity, abdominal obesity and various metabolic obesity phenotypes with H. pylori infection.

The study utilized data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) cycle 1999-2000 and included a total of 1,568 participants who were between the age group of 20 to 85 years. This study employed logistic regression models to evaluate the connection between H. pylori seropositivity and different obesity metrics, including body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-height ratio (WHtR) and metabolic obesity phenotypes. 

The results of this study revealed a significant association between abdominal obesity and H. pylori infection in younger individuals. The participants were grouped based on their WHtR that reflects abdominal fat. The prevalence of WHtR ≥ 0.5 was notably higher in H. pylori-seropositive participants when compared to H. pylori-seronegative ones (79.75% vs. 68.39%, P < 0.001). Also, the prevalence of H. pylori seropositivity was elevated in individuals with abdominal obesity defined by WHtR when compared to the participants without abdominal obesity.

Further analysis showed that the adjusted association between abdominal obesity (defined by WHtR) and H. pylori seropositivity was significant in subjects under 50 years of age, but, this association was not significant in individuals over 50 years. Moreover, metabolically healthy obesity (obesity without metabolic syndrome) was less likely to be associated with H. pylori infection in the older age group. The study found no significant link between general obesity and H. pylori seropositivity. This suggests that abdominal fat plays a more crucial role in the association with H. pylori infection than overall body fat, in younger individuals.

The findings of this study highlight the importance of considering abdominal obesity when examining the relationship between H. pylori infection and obesity. The significant association found in younger adults points to the growing need for age-specific approaches in understanding and potentially managing H. pylori infection. Further research and comprehensive studies could add valuable insights to the ongoing investigation of how obesity and H. pylori infection are interconnected and also to address the related health issues in younger populations.

Source:

Chen, D., Wang, S., Yang, W., Lu, H., & Ren, Q. (2024). Obesity, abdominal obesity, metabolic obesity phenotypes, and Helicobacter pylori infection: results from NHANES 1999–2000. In BMC Infectious Diseases (Vol. 24, Issue 1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-024-09409-7