Helicobacter pylori seropositivity in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis

Abstract

[Purpose] The results of studies investigating the role of Helicobacter pylori (HP) in osteoporosis are contradictory. In this study we investigated HP seropositivity in postmenopausal osteoporotic and non-osteoporotic females to elucidate the role of HP in postmenopausal osteoporosis. [Subjects and Methods] Serum was collected from fifty-eight osteoporotic patients and forty-seven nonosteoporotic subjects, whose status was diagnosed with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). None of the subjects had received any prior treatment for osteoporosis. Subjects' sera were assessed for HP antibodies (Immunoglobulin A and G) by enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA). Patients were interviewed about risk factors of osteoporosis. Prior fractures of patients and familial fracture history were also noted. [Results] Fifty-eight patients with osteoporosis and forty-seven nonosteoporotic patients, as determined by lumbar total or collum femoris in DEXA, were evaluated in this study. The familial fracture history was significantly higher in the osteoporotic patients than in the nonosteoporotic group. There was no significant difference in HP seropositivity between the osteoporotic and nonosteoporotic groups. [Conclusion] There was no difference in HP seropositivity between the groups, therefore HP infection seems not to be an important risk factor for postmenopausal osteoporosis.