Sex differences between Helicobacter pylori infection and cholesterol levels in an adult health checkup program.

Abstract

Helicobacter pylori (Hpylori) infection is suggested to be a risk factor of metabolic syndrome (MS) and lipid abnormalities. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of Hpylori infection on MS and lipid abnormalities according to sex differences. We analyzed a total of 4551 adults who received health checkups from January 2016 to May 2017. We enrolled participants who did not have a history of hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, or cancer among those who underwent endoscopy with a rapid urease test. We included a total of 1065 participants, and 663 patients (62.3%) were Hpylori-positive. The Hpylori infection rate was 59.3% (426/719) in males and 68.5% (237/346) in females. The mean level of total cholesterol (P=.003), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (P=.046), and triglycerides (P=.029) were statistically higher in Hpylori-infected males. The mean level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was statistically lower in Hpylori-infected females (P=.032). Multivariate analysis showed that total cholesterol in males (odds ratio [OR], 1.007; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.002-1.011) and HDL cholesterol in females (OR, 0.983; 95% CI, 0.968-0.998) were associated with active Hpylori infection. The prevalence of MS was higher in both male and female Hpylori-infected groups; however, there was no statistical significance. Hpylori infection is significantly related to increased total cholesterol in males and to decreased HDL cholesterol in females, which suggests that Hpylori could affect lipid profiles and may be different by sex.