The association between Helicobacter pylori infection and the risk for gout in hyperuricemia patients in China – A cross-sectional study

TL;DR

This study found that Helicobacter pylori infection is linked to a higher risk of gout in people with high uric acid levels in China.

Contribution

The study is the first to show a positive association between H. pylori infection and gout in hyperuricemia patients.

Findings

H. pylori infection was more common in gout patients than in those with asymptomatic hyperuricemia.

H. pylori was associated with a 32% increased risk of gout after adjusting for uric acid levels.

Abstract

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection has been reported to be associated with multiple metabolic diseases. However, the connection between H. pylori infection and gout has not been explored previously. Our study aimed to investigate the association of gout and H. pylori infection in hyperuricemia population in China.

This cross-sectional study was performed among the subjects who underwent health checkup in our health promotion center from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021. A total of 53,629 subjects with a mean age of 44.2 years were included in this study. H. pylori infection was defined as a positive [13]C-urea breath test. The effect of H. pylori infection on gout was assessed by multiple logistic regression analysis.

720 subjects with gout and 15,077 subjects with asymptomatic hyperuricemia (> 420 µmol/L in male and > 360 µmol/L in female) were enrolled. The prevalence rates of H. pylori infection, hyperuricemia and gout were 26.3%, 29.5%, 1.3%, respectively. The prevalence rate of H. pylori infection was significantly higher in subjects with gout than in those with asymptomatic hyperuricemia (35.0% vs. 27.2%; P<0.001). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that H. pylori infection was associated with an increased risk of gout independent of serum uric acid level in hyperuricemia population (odds ratio [OR]: 1.320, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.124–1.550, P = 0.001).

H. pylori infection is positively associated with higher risk of gout in hyperuricemia population. The causal relationship and potential mechanism between H. pylori infection and gout warrants further investigation.