The Relationship between Helicobacter pylori Infection and Atherosclerosis: A Meta-analysis

Objective: Both humoral and cellular immune responses are affected in atherosclerosis. Therefore, some investigators have focused on infectious causes and inflammatory processes involved in the development of atherosclerosis. This systematic review and meta-analysis was designed to investigate the relationship between Helicobacter pylori infection and atherosclerosis.Materials and Methods: The current review was conducted on studies published from January 1, 2000 to November 15,2014 through Scopus, Web of sciences, Google scholar, Embase, and two MEDLINE database engines: PubMed and Ovid.Different combinations of the following keywords “Helicobacter pylori, H. pylori, atherosclerotic plaques, atherosclerotic lesion, and atherosclerotic vascular disease” were used.Results: Four good-quality investigations met our inclusion criteria. The pooled odd ratio (OR) for the presence of H. pylori in the atherosclerotic plaques of patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease in a fixed model was 4.65 (95% CI=1.99–10.85, p=0.001). According to the chi-square test, there was a significant heterogeneity (67.6%) among studies (p=0.026).In a random effects method, the pooled OR was 5.98 (95% CI=0.69–51.99, p=0.10).Conclusion: According to the results of this meta-analysis, H. pylori is not a significant risk factor for atherosclerotic vascular disease. However, evidence on this effect is inadequate. Hence, more original studies are still needed.