Association of Helicobacter pylori infection with colorectal polyps/ adenomas: A single-center cross-sectional study

Background:<bold> </bold>Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection may be associated with colorectal polyps/adenomas, but the current evidence remains controversial. Methods:<bold> </bold>We retrospectively screened the medical records of 655 participants who underwent both colonoscopy and H. pylori test from June 15, 2020 to April 30, 2023. The number, size, location, and pathological type of colorectal polyps/adenomas were compared between H. pylori positive and negative groups. Adjusting for age, gender, smoking, drinking, hypertension, diabetes, fatty liver, body mass index, and inflammatory and metabolic indicators, multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the association of H. pylori infection with the number, size, location, and pathological type of colorectal polyps/adenomas, where no polyp/adenoma was used as reference. Results:<bold> </bold>Overall, 508 participants were included, of whom 154 and 354 were divided into H. pylori positive and negative groups, respectively. H. pylori positive group had significantly higher colorectal polyps/adenomas (74.7 % vs. 65.8 %, P=0.048), low-grade adenomas (55.7 % vs. 47.6 %, P=0.026), advanced adenomas (22.6 % vs. 13.3 %, P=0.008), and colorectal polyps/adenomas with sizes of >= 6 mm (61.7 % vs. 48.5 %, P=0.002) and >= 10 mm (25.2 % vs. 14.6 %, P=0.004) than H. pylori negative group. In multivariate logistic regression analyses, H. pylori infection was independently associated with low-grade adenomas (OR=2.677, 95 %CI=1.283-5.587, P=0.009), advanced adenomas (OR=3.017, 95 %CI=1.007-9.036, P=0.049), right-side colon polyps/adenomas (OR=5.553, 95 %CI=1.679-18.360, P=0.005), and colorectal polyps/adenomas with sizes of >= 10 mm (OR=4.436, 95 %CI=1.478-13.310, P=0.008), but not number of colorectal polyps/adenomas. Conclusion:<bold> </bold>H. pylori infection is associated with increased risk of colorectal polyps/adenomas, especially low-grade adenomas, advanced adenomas, right-side colon polyps/adenomas, and large colorectal polyps/adenomas.