Chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori does not provoke major systemic inflammation in healthy adults: results from a large population-based study

It has been suggested that chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), in particular infection with virulent strains producing the cytotoxin-associated protein CagA, may increase the risk of coronary heart disease by generation of a persistent low-grade inflammatory stimulus. We assessed the relation between serological markers of H.pylori infection and various markers of systemic inflammation in a population-based sample of 1834 men and women aged 18–88. A total of 39.3% of the sample had a positive IgG response, and among these a slight majority was CagA positive. Infection with H. pylori was unrelated to C-reactive protein and the leukocyte count, regardless of CagA status. There was an inverse relation between H. pylori infection and serum albumin. The adjusted OR (95% CI) of an albumin level in the bottom versus the top third were 2.2 (1.5–3.1) and 2.0 (1.4–3.1) for infection with CagA-positive and CagA-negative H. pylori strains, respectively. These results do not support the hypothesis that chronic infection with virulent H. pylori strains provokes major systemic inflammation. The mechanisms underlying the inverse association between H. pylori infection and serum albumin and the clinical relevance of this finding require further research.