Helicobacter pylori seropositivity associates with hyperglycemia, but not obesity, in Danish children and adolescents

• Published in: BMC medicine Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 379 - 12
• Main Authors: Kløve, Sigri, Stinson, Sara E, Romme, Fie O, Butt, Julia, Graversen, Katrine B, Lund, Morten A V, Fonvig, Cilius E, Waterboer, Tim, Perez-Perez, Guillermo I, Hansen, Torben, Holm, Jens-Christian, Andersen, Sandra B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 11-09-2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Age; Blood Glucose - analysis; Body fat; Body Mass Index; Body size; Cardiometabolic risk factors; Cardiovascular diseases; Child; Children; Cohort Studies; Complications and side effects; Consent; Denmark - epidemiology; Fasting; Female; Glucose; Health aspects; Health risks; Helicobacter Infections - blood; Helicobacter Infections - epidemiology; Helicobacter pylori; Humans; Hyperglycemia; Hyperglycemia - blood; Hyperglycemia - epidemiology; Immunomodulation; Infections; Inflammation; Inflammatory response; Male; Obesity; Pediatric; Pediatric Obesity - blood; Pediatric Obesity - epidemiology; Pediatric Obesity - microbiology; Pediatric research; Pediatrics; Physiological aspects; Prevalence; Risk factors; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Serology; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomic status; Teenagers; Test systems; Weight control; Young Adult; Denmark; Body mass index; Obesity; Hyperglycemia; Helicobacter pylori; Cardiometabolic risk factors; Children; Adolescents; Pediatric
• ISSN: 1741-7015; 1741-7015
• DOI: 10.1186/s12916-024-03591-w

Helicobacter pylori colonizes the human stomach and may affect the inflammatory response, hormone production related to energy regulation, and gastrointestinal microbiota composition. Previous studies have explored a potential association between H. pylori infection and pediatric obesity with varying results. Considering the immunomodulatory effects of early-life infection with H. pylori that can confer beneficial effects, we hypothesized that we would find an inverse relationship between H. pylori seropositivity and obesity among Danish children and adolescents.
We assessed H. pylori seroprevalence in 713 subjects from an obesity clinic cohort and 990 subjects from a population-based cohort, aged 6 to 19 years, and examined its association with obesity and other cardiometabolic risk factors.
No association was found between H. pylori and body mass index standard deviation score (BMI SDS). H. pylori seropositivity was, however, significantly associated with higher fasting plasma glucose levels and the prevalence of hyperglycemia.
While we did not find an association between H. pylori seropositivity and BMI SDS, we observed a significant association with higher fasting plasma glucose levels and increased prevalence of hyperglycemia, suggesting that H. pylori infection may contribute to impaired glucose regulation in Danish children and adolescents.