Relationship between lifetime alcohol consumption and Helicobacter pylori infection.

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.