Helicobacter pylori infection and fasting plasma glucose concentration.

Background: Helicobacter pylori infection raises basal and meal stimulated serum gastrin concentrations and lowers iron stores, which may in turn reduce fasting plasma glucose concentrations in the population.

Aim: To determine whether H pylori infection leads to lower fasting plasma glucose 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 cardiovascular risk factor survey. Plasma glucose concentrations and H pylori IgG antibody titres were measured. Non-fasting subjects and pregnant women were excluded, as were known diabetics, whose plasma glucose concentrations would be affected by diet and/or medications. Fasting plasma glucose concentrations were logarithmically transformed and the relation with H pylori infection, 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 fasting plasma glucose concentration among women. Infected women had a lower mean fasting plasma glucose concentration (5.2 mmol/litre; range, 3.9-8.2) than 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 interpreting concentrations bordering on diabetes.