Association between Helicobacter pylori infection and overweight or obesity in a Chinese population

Abstract

Introduction: Recent studies found that Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection plays a role in cardiometabolic disorders. The objective of this study was to assess the association between H. pylori infection and overweight or obesity in a Chinese population.

Methodology: A cross-sectional analysis using data from the subjects who underwent a health examination between January 2010 and June 2012 in the department of comprehensive medicine was performed. Diagnosis of H. pylori infection was achieved using the carbon urea breath test (¹⁴C-UBT). The participants were divided into H. pylori infection-positive group and H. pylori infection-negative group by ¹⁴C-UBT.

Results: A total of 2,050 subjects were enrolled in the study. The H. pylori infection-positive group had significantly higher body mass index (BMI) levels than did the H. pylori infection-negative group (25.32 vs 24.95, p = 0.008). There was a positive association between H. pylori infection and BMI levels (β = 0.30 ± 0.12, p = 0.015). After additional adjustment for white blood cell count (WBCC), the statistical significance disappeared (β = 0.24 ± 0.12, p = 0.053). Furthermore, a positive association between H. pylori infection and overweight/obesity according to different BMI criteria (BMI ≥ 24, BMI ≥ 23) was found. However, the association between H. pylori infection and obesity was consistently significant only based on the Asian criteria (BMI ≥ 27.5), but not significant based on the Chinese criteria (BMI ≥ 28).

Conclusion: H. pylori infection was significantly and positively associated with overweight/obesity in a Chinese population.