Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection among Patients with Acne Vulgaris

Abstract

Abstract Background Acne vulgaris is one of the most common dermatologic complaints. About 85% of adolescent population and 3% of the adults between the age of 35-44 years have this disease worldwide. It is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the pilosebaceous unit. Helicobacter pylori is a gastric Gram-negative, spiral-shaped microaerophilic pathogen closely associated with gastric and extra-gastric diseases (chronic gastritis, peptic ulcers, gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma, gastric cancer, iron deficiency anemia, etc). It has been shown that H. pylori may play a potential pathogenic role in extra-intestinal diseases such as hepatobiliary, respiratory, cardiovascular, and dermatological disorders. The latter included chronic urticaria, psoriasis, henoch-schonlein purpura, and rosacea. Objective To determine the prevalence of H. Pylori infection among AV patients and correlate it with the disease severity. We included 45 patients with AV and 45 matched age and sex apparent healthy controls. Methods This case control study included 45 Patients with AV. They were recruited from the Dermatology outpatient clinic, Ain Shams University Hospitals and Teba specialized hospital in Luxur government. The study also included 45 age and sex matched healthy volunteers as a control group. They were recruited from people who don't have AV attending Al Demerdash Hospital Ain Shams University and Tepa Specialized Hospital. The study was done in the period from November 2021 to October 2022. Results Detection of H. pylori antigen in stool and H. pylori antibody IgG in serum in both groups revealed that the rates of H. pylori antigen in stool and H. pylori antibody IgG in serum were significantly higher in AV patients compared to control subjects. Also the patients with severe AV had statistically significant higher rates of H. pylori antigen in stool and H. pylori antibody in serum as compared to the patients with mild Acne and healthy controls. Also the number of AV involved sites and severity of AV were significantly correlated with H. pylori Ag in stool and H pylori Ab in serum. While there was no statistical significant correlation between (the type of AV, onset of AV and duration of AV) and H. pylori Ag in stool and H. pylori Ab in serum. Conclusion The prevalence of H. pylori infection in patients with acne vulgaris is high so it may represent a risk factor for this skin disease. Also the indicators of H. pylori infection were positively correlated with the severity of AV.