Seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in chagasic and nonchagasic patients from the same geographical region of Brazil

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical Vol. 45; no. 2; pp. 194 - 198
• Main Authors: Fonseca, Fernanda Machado, Queiroz, Dulciene Maria de Magalhães, Rocha, Andreia Maria Camargos, Prata, Aluízio, Crema, Eduardo, Rodrigues Junior, Virmondes, Ramirez, Luiz Eduardo, Oliveira, Adriana Gonçalves de
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brazil Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical 01-04-2012; Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical - SBMT; Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT)
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antibodies, Bacterial - blood; Bacterial infections; Brazil - epidemiology; Chagas Disease - complications; Chronic Disease; Co-infecção; Doença de Chagas; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Epidemiology; Female; Formas clínicas da doença de Chagas crônica; Helicobacter Infections - complications; Helicobacter Infections - epidemiology; Helicobacter pylori; Helicobacter pylori - immunology; Humans; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Male; Middle Aged; Parasitic diseases; Prevalence; Rural Population; Seroepidemiologic Studies; TROPICAL MEDICINE; Urban Population; Brazil; Co-infection; Helicobacter pylori; Co-infecção; Chagas disease; Chronic Chagas disease clinical forms; Formas clínicas da doença de Chagas crônica; Doença de Chagas
• ISSN: 0037-8682; 1678-9849; 1678-9849; 0037-8682
• DOI: 10.1590/S0037-86822012000200011

In this study, we evaluated the seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection among chagasic and non-chagasic subjects as well as among the subgroups of chagasic patients with the indeterminate, cardiac, digestive, and cardiodigestive clinical forms.
The evaluated subjects were from the Triângulo Mineiro region, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Chagasic patients showed positive reactions to the conventional serological tests used and were classified according to the clinical form of their disease. Immunoglobulin G antibodies specific to H. pylori were measured using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit.
The overall H. pylori prevalence was 77.1% (239/310) in chagasic and 69.1% (168/243) in non-chagasic patients. This difference was statistically significant even after adjustment for age and sex (odds ratio = 1.57; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-2.42; p = 0.04) in multivariate analysis. The prevalence of infection increased with age in the non-chagasic group (p = 0.007, χ² for trend), but not in the chagasic group (p = 0.15, χ² for trend). H. pylori infection was not associated with digestive or other clinical forms of Chagas disease (p = 0.27).
Our findings demonstrate that chagasic patients have a higher prevalence of H. pylori compared to non-chagasic subjects; a similar prevalence was found among the diverse clinical forms of the disease. The factors contributing to the frequent co-infection with H. pylori and Trypanosoma cruzi as well as its effects on the clinical outcome deserve further study.