Search resultsRelationship between lifetime alcohol consumption and Helicobacter pylori infection
Title
Relationship between lifetime alcohol consumption and Helicobacter pylori infection
Publication type
Journal Article
Year of Publication
2005
Authors
Journal
Annals of Epidemiology
Volume
15
Issue
8
Pagination
607 - 613
Date published
2005
ISBN
10472797 (ISSN)
Keywords
Adult, Aged, alcohol, alcohol consumption, Alcohol Drinking, antimicrobial activity, article, Confidence Intervals, controlled study, Cross-Sectional Studies, dose response, Female, Germany, Helicobacter infection, Helicobacter Infections, Helicobacter pylori, human, Humans, Immunoglobulin G, infection prevention, Life Style, lifespan, lifestyle, Lifetime Alcohol Consumption, major clinical study, male, Middle Aged, nonlinear system, observational study, priority journal, Questionnaires, risk reduction, seroprevalence
Abstract
PURPOSE: Several studies have demonstrated an inverse relationship between current moderate alcohol consumption and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection suggesting that alcohol consumption may facilitate elimination of this chronic infection. The aim of this study was to further explore this hypothesis by taking lifetime alcohol consumption, which may be a better marker of the relevant exposure than current alcohol consumption, into account. METHODS: A total of 1206 patients between 30 and 70 years of age who underwent in-patient rehabilitation due to coronary heart disease were included in a cross sectional study carried out between January 1999 and April 2000. Participants provided information on average amount of alcohol consumed during past 12 months as well as during lifetime. H. pylori infection status was measured by serum immunoglobulin G antibodies. RESULTS: There was an inverse non-linear relation between amount of current alcohol consumption and H. pylori seroprevalence. By contrast, we found an inverse dose-response relationship between lifetime alcohol consumption and H. pylori seroprevalence with the strongest risk reduction among subjects who had consumed more than 500,000 g of alcohol during life (adjusted odds ratio, 0.65; 95% confidence interval, 0.42-1.00). CONCLUSION: Our analysis supports the hypothesis that alcohol consumption may facilitate elimination of H. pylori infection among adults.