The Association between Helicobacter pylori Seropositivity and Bone Mineral Density in Adults
Jinke Huang, Zhihong Liu, Jinxin Ma, Jiali Liu, Mi Lv, Fengyun Wang, Xudong Tang
Abstract
Objectives. Current evidence on the associations between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and bone mineral density (BMD) is conflicting. Therefore, a nationally representative sample of adults was analyzed to investigate the associations of H. pylori seropositivity and BMD in this study. Methods. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted with 2555 subjects aged 40-85 years in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2001. Multivariable logistic regression models were performed to evaluate the associations between H. pylori seropositivity and BMD. Subgroup analyses stratified by sex, age, race, and body mass index (BMI) were performed. Results. No association was found between H. pylori seropositivity and BMD ( <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"> <a:mi>β</a:mi> <a:mo>=</a:mo> <a:mn>0.006</a:mn> </a:math> , 95% CI: -0.003 to 0.015, <c:math xmlns:c="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M2"> <c:mi>P</c:mi> <c:mo>=</c:mo> <c:mn>0.177</c:mn> </c:math> ). In the subgroup analyses stratified by age, a positive association was observed between the H. pylori seropositivity and total BMD among subjects aged 40-55 years ( <e:math xmlns:e="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M3"> <e:mi>β</e:mi> <e:mo>=</e:mo> <e:mn>0.018</e:mn> </e:math> , 95% CI: 0.004 to 0.033, <g:math xmlns:g="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M4"> <g:mi>P</g:mi> <g:mo>=</g:mo> <g:mn>0.012</g:mn> </g:math> ); in the subgroup analyses stratified by sex, a positive association was observed between the H. pylori seropositive and total BMD in male ( <i:math xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M5"> <i:mi>β</i:mi> <i:mo>=</i:mo> <i:mn>0.019</i:mn> </i:math> , 95% CI: 0.007 to 0.032, <k:math xmlns:k="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M6"> <k:mi>P</k:mi> <k:mo>=</k:mo> <k:mn>0.003</k:mn> </k:math> ); in the subgroup analyses stratified by age and sex, the total BMD was higher in men aged 40-55 years with H. pylori seropositive than those with H. pylori seronegative ( <m:math xmlns:m="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M7"> <m:mi>β</m:mi> <m:mo>=</m:mo> <m:mn>0.034</m:mn> </m:math> , 95% CI: 0.013 to 0.056, <o:math xmlns:o="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M8"> <o:mi>P</o:mi> <o:mo>=</o:mo> <o:mn>0.002</o:mn> </o:math> ). Conclusions. In conclusion, no association between H. pylori seropositive and total BMD was demonstrated among most middle-aged and elderly adults. H. pylori infection may not be one key factor in the loss of BMD.