Study Suggests Association Between Helicobacter pylori Infection and Alzheimer's Disease Risk

The study involved a vast cohort of over 4 million dementia-free subjects. Through a nested case-control approach, researchers matched each newly diagnosed case of AD with 40 controls. The analysis used conditional logistic regression to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for AD risk associated with CAHPI compared to no CAHPI, specifically considering a time frame of two or more years preceding the index date. Additionally, salmonellosis served as a negative control exposure for comparative purposes.

The findings unveiled a noteworthy association between CAHPI and an increased risk of AD, with the OR for AD risk being 1.11 (95% CI, 1.01–1.21) when compared to individuals without CAHPI. Intriguingly, salmonellosis did not exhibit any significant association with the risk of AD, as indicated by an OR of 1.03 (95% CI, 0.82–1.29).

Key highlights from the study include:

• CAHPI was linked to an 11% heightened risk of developing AD among individuals aged 50 years and above.

• The risk of AD peaked at 24% approximately a decade after the onset of CAHPI.

• The study noted no substantial effect modification by age or sex, suggesting a consistent association across demographic groups.

• Rigorous sensitivity analyses aimed at addressing potential biases consistently supported the association between CAHPI and AD risk.

Reference:

Douros, A., Ante, Z., Fallone, C. A., Azoulay, L., Renoux, C., Suissa, S., & Brassard, P. Clinically apparent Helicobacter pylori infection and the risk of incident Alzheimer’s disease: A population‐based nested case‐control study. Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association,2023. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13561