Search resultsAlcohol as a gastric disinfectant? The complex relationship between alcohol consumption and current Helicobacter pylori infection
Title
Alcohol as a gastric disinfectant? The complex relationship between alcohol consumption and current Helicobacter pylori infection
Publication type
Journal Article
Year of Publication
2001
Authors
Journal
Epidemiology
Volume
12
Issue
2
Pagination
209 - 214
Date published
2001
ISBN
10443983 (ISSN)
Keywords
Adolescent, Adult, Aged, alcohol, alcohol consumption, Alcohol Drinking, Alcoholic Beverages, antimicrobial activity, article, bacterial infection, breath analysis, Breath Tests, carbon 13, Child, Child, Preschool, controlled study, Cross-Sectional Studies, disinfectant agent, Disinfectants, Ethanol, Female, Gastritis, Germany, Helicobacter Infections, Helicobacter pylori, human, Humans, immune system, major clinical study, male, Middle Aged, Odds Ratio, Peptic Ulcer, prevalence, Prevalence study, priority journal, Questionnaires, urea
Abstract
Alcoholic beverages have antimicrobial effects against Helicobacter pylori in vitro. To elucidate the relation between alcohol consumption and current infection with H. pylori in vivo, we carried out a pooled analysis of three recent studies from Southern Germany, comprising 1410 adults age 15 to 69. Detailed information on consumption of various alcoholic beverages was collected through standardized questionnaires. Helicobacter pylori infection was measured by 13C-urea breath test. Overall, prevalence of current H. pylori infection was lower among subjects who consumed alcohol (34.9%) than among nondrinkers (38.0%). The adjusted odds ratio was 0.79, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.58-1.08. Furthermore, alcohol consumption showed a strong inverse relation to the result of the 13C-urea breath test, a semiquantitative measure of the bacterial load, among infected subjects. The inverse association between alcohol consumption and H. pylori infection was not monotonic, however. Odds of infection were lowest at moderate levels of alcohol consumption and increased at higher levels of alcohol consumption, regardless of the type of alcoholic beverages consumed. These results support the hypothesis that moderate alcohol consumption may favor suppression and eventual elimination of H. pylori infection. At higher levels of alcohol consumption, the antimicrobial effects of alcoholic beverages may be opposed by adverse systemic effects of drinking, such as adverse effects on the immune defense.