Evaluation of Cardiometabolic Markers in Helicobacter pylori Infection: A Case-control Study

Introduction: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a gram negative bacterium that naturally colonises the gastric epithelium and causes chronic gastritis. H. pylori infection affects gastric physiology and alters the lipid metabolism pathways. High -sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) is a useful marker for risk assessment of future cardiovascular events. Many studies have proposed a link between cardiometabolic markers like lipid profile and hs-CRP with H. pylori infection but very limited studies are available to explain the effect of H. pylori infection on these cardiometabolic markers.Aim: To analyse the cardiometabolic markers (lipid profile, and hs-CRP) in H. pylori infection.Materials and Methods: This case-control study was conducted from November 2018 to June 2019 in the Department of Biochemistry in association with the Department of Surgery, Mysore Medical College and Research Institute, Mysore, Karnataka, India, 50 cases and 50 control subjects were enrolled. Fasting Total Cholesterol (TC), Triglycerides (TG), High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL-C), Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C), Very Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (VLDL-C), hs-CRP and atherogenic Index of Plasma (AIP) were analysed. Statistical analysis was performed using Student's t-test.Results: The gender distribution was almost same in the two groups. The mean age in the case group was 47.34 +/- 12.08 years, while that in the control group was 46.2 +/- 14.8 years. There was an increase in TC, LDL, VLDL, and TG in cases`, but it was not statistically significant. Serum HDL level was 34.59 +/- 9.79 mg/ dL, and 41.62 +/- 10.29 mg/dL for cases and controls respectively and it was statistically significant. hs-CRP level was significantly increased in the case group (5.51 +/- 4.59 mg/L) when compared to the control (2.63 +/- 2.0 mg/L). AIP was also significantly high in the cases (0.246 +/- 0.219) than the controls (0.106 +/- 0.22).Conclusion: Significant decrease in HDL and increase in hs-CRP levels in cases show evidence of dyslipidaemia and atherogenic risk. hs-CRP also showed a significant correlation with AIP. Hence, these cardiometabolic markers may have a role in identifying individuals at higher risk for cardiovascular diseases in cases.