Autoimmune thyroid diseases and Helicobacter pylori: the correlation is present only in Graves's disease.

Aim: To investigate the correlation between autoimmune thyroid diseases (ATDs) and the prevalence of Cag-A positive strains of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in stool samples.

Methods: Authors investigated 112 consecutive Caucasian patients (48 females and 4 males with Graves' disease and 54 females and 6 males with Hashimoto's thyroiditis HT), at their first diagnosis of ATDs. Authors tested for H. pylori in stool samples using an amplified enzyme immunoassay and Cag-A in serum samples using an enzyme-linked immunoassay method (ELISA). The results were analyzed using the two-sided Fisher's exact test and the respective odds ratio (OR) was calculated.

Results: A marked correlation was found between the presence of H. pylori (P ≤ 0.0001, OR 6.3) and, in particular, Cag-A positive strains (P ≤ 0.005, OR 5.3) in Graves' disease, but not in Hashimoto's thyroiditis, where authors found only a correlation with Cag-A strains (P ≤ 0.005, OR 8.73) but not when H. pylori was present.

Conclusion: The marked correlation between H. pylori and Cag-A, found in ATDs, could be dependent on the different expression of adhesion molecules in the gastric mucosa.