Relationship of Helicobacter pylori Infection to Arterial Stiffness in Japanese Subjects

The role of Helicobacter pylori in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis remains controversial, and the relationship between H. pylori and the early stage of atherosclerosis has not been fully investigated. We investigated the influence of H. pylori infection on arterial stiffness to clarify whether H. pylori infection is related to early-stage atherosclerosis. The subjects were 3,412 males and 854 females. Anti-H. pylori antibody and C-reactive protein (CRP) level were measured. Arterial stiffness was evaluated using the brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (PWV). In multivariate logistic repression analyses of male subjects, H. pylori seropositivity (odds ratio [OR] 1.27 [95% confidence interval, 1.05–1.52]) and H. pylori seropositivity with a high CRP value (>0.045 mg/dl) (OR 1.50 [1.14–1.98]) were significantly related to a high value of PWV. In the analyses of male subjects aged 49 years, H. pylori seropositivity (OR 1.40 [1.04–1.88]) and H. pylori seropositivity with a high CRP value (OR 1.81 [1.16–2.80]) were also significantly related to a high value of PWV. However, in male subjects aged 50 years and female subjects, no associations were found. These results suggest that inflammation following H. pylori infection contributes to the early stage of atherosclerosis in younger males.