General Cardiology

Helicobacter pylori Infection and Coronary Heart Disease in Japanese Patients
Hiroyuki Osawa^a, Masanobu Kawakami^b, Mikihisa Fujii^c, Norifumi Kubo^c, Hisakazu Iwanaka^a, Wari Yamamoto^d, Muneyasu Saitoh^c, Toshio Yaginuma^a, Kentaro Sugano^e

Divisions of
^aIntegrated Medicine,
^bAtherosclerosis and Metabolism, and
^cCardiology, Department of Integrated Medicine, Omiya Medical Center, Jichi Medical School, Omiya City;
^dDepartment of Community and General Medicine, School of Medicine, Sapporo Medical University, Sapporo City, and
^eDepartment of Gastroenterology, Jichi Medical School, Minamikawachi, Tochigi, Japan

Address of Corresponding Author

Cardiology 2001;95:14-19 (DOI: 10.1159/000047337)

  Key Words

• Anti-Helicobacter pylori antibody
• Coronary heart disease
• Gastric atrophy

  Abstract

Although several independent studies have claimed a link between Helicobacter pylori infection and coronary heart disease (CHD), this association has not been established conclusively. The aim was to determine whether an association between H. pylori infection and CHD can be demonstrated in Japanese patients. Three-hundred and four patients who underwent consecutive coronary arteriography were investigated. Ninety-four patients had single-vessel coronary stenosis and 112 had multi-vessel stenosis. The remaining 98 patients had no significant stenosis in any coronary arteries. H. pylori infection was diagnosed serologically and the association between infection and CHD was estimated by the odds ratio. The serum pepsinogen (PG) I-II ratio was used to estimate the degree of gastric atrophy. Seropositivity for H. pylori was significantly higher in the patients with CHD (67%) than in the controls (50%; p = 0.006). The odds ratio for CHD after having H. pylori infection was estimated as 1.35 (95% confidence interval 1.03-1.78; p = 0.028), after adjustment for the common risk factors of CHD in a logistic regression analysis. The association between CHD and H. pylori infection was more significant among patients without any history of diabetes or smoking. The PG I-II ratio in H. pylori-positive patients was significantly higher in the multi-vessel group (3.46) than in the control or single-vessel group (2.86, p = 0.030; 2.78, p = 0.008; respectively). H. pylori infection was shown to be an independent risk factor for CHD in Japanese patients, especially among those who did not have a history of diabetes or smoking. These data imply that the association between H. pylori infection and CHD is clinically relevant.

Copyright © 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Masanobu Kawakami, MD
Omiya Medical Center, Jichi Medical School
847-1, Amanuma
Omiya, Saitama 330 (Japan)
Tel. +81 48 647 2111, Fax +81 48 648 5188

  Article Information

Received: Received: September 26, 2000
Accepted: November 19, 2000
Number of Print Pages : 6
Number of Figures : 0, Number of Tables : 4, Number of References : 26