Helicobacter pylori infection and fasting plasma glucose concentration

Background-Helicobacter pylori infection raises basal and meal stimulated s erum gastrin concentrations and lowers iron stores, which may in turn reduc e fasting plasma glucose concentrations in the population. Aim-To determine whether H pylori infection leads to lower fasting plasma g lucose concentrations in the population, Methods-One hundred and seventy three women and 165 men, randomly selected from the electoral rolls of an Australian city, participated in a cardiovas cular risk factor survey. Plasma glucose concentrations and H pylori IgG an tibody titres were measured. Non-fasting subjects and pregnant women were e xcluded, as were known diabetics, whose plasma glucose concentrations would be affected by diet and/or medications. Pasting plasma glucose concentrati ons were logarithmically transformed and the relation with H pylori infecti on, adjusting for age and other confounding factors, was determined for men and women separately by analyses of variance. Results-Helicobacter pylori infection was significantly associated with fas ting plasma glucose concentration among women. Infected women had a lower m ean fasting plasma glucose concentration (5.2 mmol/litre; range, 3.9-8.2) t han did non-infected women (5.4 mmol/litre; range, 3.9-11.1). Conclusions-Helicobacter pylori infection may lead to lower fasting plasma glucose concentrations among women and should be considered when interpreti ng concentrations bordering on diabetes.