Helicobacter Pylori Infection in Diabetic Patients

Abstract

Background H Pylori infection could be regarded as the commonest infection worldwide, it had been suggested that H pylori infection is more frequent among diabetics. Objective This study had been designed to define any significant association between diabetes and H pylori infection, to evaluate different demographic features of patients with diabetes mellitus who have H pylori infection, assess any relation between H pylori infection and the metabolic control of diabetes mellitus and to estimate the frequency of different oesophagogastroduodenoscopy findings among diabetic population with H pylori infection. Methods This study enrolled 50 patients with diabetes mellitus and another 50 non-diabetic patients (as a control group). The patients attended Gastrointestinal unit at Al-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital Baghdad/Iraq during the period between the 1st of March2004, to the 31st of November 2004. Full history was taken and clinical examination, investigation to assess the glycemic control and esophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD)had been done to all of them. H pylori status had been detected by positive Rapid Urease test and histopathology and/or ELIZA test for anti-H pylori IgG. Results This study revealed that 26diabetic patients (52%) were H pylori positive, while 14 non-diabetic patients (28%) were H pylori positive which is statistically significant (X2=6.0,P=0.01). patients aging 60 year old or more (24 patients, 48% of the sample) 18 of them had positive H pylori status, 20 patients out of the 26patients with positive H pylori status (76.9%) had poor glycemic control, 84.6% of those with positive H pylori status (22 out of 26 patients) had glycated hemoglobin level of 8% and greater, 61.8% of those with positive H pylori status (16 patients) were diabetic for more than 10 years. 61.5% of those with positive H pylori status had one or more of the chronic diabetic complications, 12 patients had OGD finding consistent with duodenitis, all of them were H pylori positive, OGD examination revealed 20 cases without active disease, 18 of them had negative H pylori status. Conclusions This study indicates that Helicobacter pylori infection is more common in diabetic patients. Frequency of H pylori infection is higher among elderly diabetics, those with long standing, poorly controlled and with diabetic complications.