Helicobacter pylori seroprevalence in patients with chronic bronchitis.
OBJECTIVE
A high rate of seropositivity for antibodies against Helicobacter pylori has been found in many extra-gastrointestinal diseases. In addition, it has been reported that the risk of chronic bronchitis may be increased in subjects infected with H. pylori. This study was designed to determine the H. pylori seroprevalence in patients with and without chronic bronchitis.


METHODS
This study enrolled 68 patients with chronic bronchitis (40 men and 28 women, aged 50.5+/-16.2 years (mean+/-standard deviation) and 95 control subjects (60 men and 35 women, aged 51.8+/-15.9 years) matched for age and sex. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay immunoglobulin (Ig) G test for H. pylori diagnosis was performed on all enrolled subjects (those with chronic bronchitis and controls).


RESULTS
Forty-five of 68 patients with chronic bronchitis (66.1%) and 48 of 95 subjects in the control group (57.7%) tested positive for H. pylori (P=0.008). Rates of H. pylori infection are higher in patients with chronic bronchitis than in the control group.


CONCLUSIONS
The main conclusion of this study is that H. pylori infection is associated with an increased prevalence chronic bronchitis. Further studies should be planned to understand the potential pathogenetic mechanisms that might underlie this association.
Kanbay
Mehmet
M
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Baskent University, Ankara, Turkey. drkanbay@yahoo.com
Gur
Gurden
G
Akcay
Sule
S
Yilmaz
Ugur
U
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D029481:Bronchitis, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000382:microbiology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000097:blood; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G