Association between Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Helicobacter pylori Infection

To determine the frequency of Helicobacter pylori infection in diabetic and non-diabetic patients and to compare the frequency of H. pylori infection in both groups. Case control studyt his hospital based study was conducted on 100 subjects and divided into two groups: group A - Type 2 diabetics and group B - non-diabetics, consisting of 40 and 60 patients respectively. All patients > 30 years of age, both gender & with history of dyspepsia, epigastric pain, or bloating for more than a month. They were screened for the presence of H. pylori infection by studying the H&E and Giemsa stained sections of their gastric biopsies. 72.5% of diabetics showed positive H. pylori colonization whereas non diabetic group showed only 38.3% positivity. Odds ratio, Chi square and p value are calculated. Diabetic patients were more prone and are at risk to acquire H. pylori infection. There is a well-established association between H. pylori infection and gastric adenocarcinoma gastric MALT lymphomas. A short course of antibiotic therapy can eradicate H. pylori and reduce the incidence of these complications significantly. Hence, all gastric biopsies sent from patients with dyspeptic symptoms must be screened for presence of H. pylori.