H. pylori infection decreases reflux risk

Excerpt:

MedWire News: Infection with Helicobacter pylori has a strong negativeassociation with reflux esophagitis, and eradication of infection raises the prevalence of esophagitis to that of non-infected individuals, conclude South Korean investigators.

The association between H. pylori infection and gastroesophageal reflux disease remains a matter of debate, particularly as the majority of studies that have examined the link have been vulnerable to the confounding effect of variables associated with both reflux esophagitis and H. pylori infection.

To adjust for confounding factors, Il Ju Choi, from the National Cancer Center in Goyang, and colleagues enrolled 10,102 individuals from a comprehensive screening cohort, of whom 4007 were followed-up after a median of 2 years.

Overall, 490 of the original 10,102 participants had reflux esophagitis, 76.1% of whom had grade A, 22.7% had grade B, and 1.2% had grade C esophagitis. While there were no age differences between those with and without reflux esophagitis, esophagitis patients had a significantly higher body mass index than those without esophagitis (25.1 vs 23.9 kg/m2).