Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University Ramat Aviv, Ramat Aviv, 6139001, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Hadassah School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.
Hum Genomics. 2019 Jul 22;13(1):32. doi: 10.1186/s40246-019-0217-3.
Persistent infections that induce prolonged inflammation might negatively affect the leukocyte telomere length (LTL); however, the role in LTL of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, which persistently colonizes the stomach, remains unknown. The study objective was to examine associations of sero-prevalence of H. pylori immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody and serum pepsinogens (PGs), as markers of atrophic gastritis, with LTL. A cross-sectional study was performed among 934 Arab residents of East Jerusalem, aged 27-78 years, randomly selected from Israel's national population registry. Sera were tested for H. pylori IgG and PG levels by ELISA. LTL was measured by southern blots. Multiple linear regression models were fitted to adjust for sociodemographic and lifestyle factors.
LTL decreased significantly with age (p < 0.001) and was shorter in men than women (p = 0.032). The mean LTL was longer in H. pylori sero-positive persons than negative ones: mean difference 0.13 kb (95% CI 0.02, 0.24), p = 0.016. Participants with atrophic gastritis (PGI < 30 μg/L or a PGI: PGII < 3.0) had shorter LTL than did those without: mean difference - 0.18 (95% CI - 0.32, - 0.04). The difference was of larger magnitude between persons who had past H. pylori infection (sero-negative to H. pylori IgG antibody) and atrophic gastritis, compared to those who were H. pylori sero-negative and did not have atrophic gastritis: mean difference - 0.32 kb (95% CI - 0.55, - 0.10). This association remained significant after adjustment for age, sex, and religiosity: beta coefficient - 0.21 kb (95% CI - 0.41, - 0.001), p = 0.049. The results were similar after further adjustment for lifestyle factors. In bivariate analysis, mean LTL was longer in physically active persons than non-active ones, and shorter in persons with than without obesity; however, these differences were diminished and were not significant in the multivariable model.
H. pylori IgG sero-positivity per se was not related to reduced LTL. However, persons with past H. pylori infection (i.e., lacking H. pylori IgG serum antibody) and with serological evidence of atrophic gastritis, had a significantly shorter LTL than did those without atrophic gastritis.
持续性感染会导致长期炎症，这可能会对白细胞端粒长度（LTL）产生负面影响；然而，幽门螺杆菌（H. pylori）感染持续存在于胃中，其在 LTL 中的作用尚不清楚。本研究旨在研究血清 H. pylori 免疫球蛋白 G（IgG）抗体和血清胃蛋白酶原（PG）的血清阳性率与 LTL 的关系，这两种标志物可作为萎缩性胃炎的标志物。在东耶路撒冷的 934 名阿拉伯居民中进行了一项横断面研究，这些居民年龄在 27-78 岁之间，随机选自以色列国家人口登记处。通过 ELISA 法检测 H. pylori IgG 和 PG 水平。通过 Southern 印迹法测量 LTL。使用多元线性回归模型调整社会人口统计学和生活方式因素。
LTL 随年龄显著下降（p < 0.001），男性的 LTL 短于女性（p = 0.032）。H. pylori 血清阳性者的 LTL 长于阴性者：平均差异 0.13 kb（95%CI 0.02，0.24），p = 0.016。与无萎缩性胃炎者相比，有萎缩性胃炎（PGI < 30 μg/L 或 PGI：PGII < 3.0）者的 LTL 更短：平均差异 -0.18（95%CI -0.32，-0.04）。与 H. pylori 血清阴性且无萎缩性胃炎者相比，既往 H. pylori 感染（血清阴性至 H. pylori IgG 抗体）且有萎缩性胃炎者的差异更大：平均差异 -0.32 kb（95%CI -0.55，-0.10）。在调整年龄、性别和宗教信仰后，这种关联仍然显著：β系数 -0.21 kb（95%CI -0.41，-0.001），p = 0.049。进一步调整生活方式因素后，结果相似。在单变量分析中，与非活跃者相比，体力活动者的平均 LTL 较长，与肥胖者相比，非肥胖者的 LTL 较短；然而，这些差异在多变量模型中减弱且不显著。
H. pylori IgG 血清阳性本身与 LTL 降低无关。然而，既往 H. pylori 感染（即缺乏 H. pylori IgG 血清抗体）且有萎缩性胃炎血清学证据的患者，其 LTL 明显短于无萎缩性胃炎的患者。
