Objectives: This study was designed to test whether serum vitamin D levels affected Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and eradication rates.
Methods: A multicenter observational prospective cohort study was conducted. A total of 496 H. pylori- positive (H. pylori+ ) and 257 H. pylori-negative (H. pylori- ) patients were enrolled from four hospitals in China. Baseline serum vitamin D levels were measured and a 13 C-urea breath test (UBT) was performed for all the participants. The H. pylori+ patients were divided into two subgroups based on their serum vitamin D levels (<10 or ≥10 ng/mL). A second 13 C-UBT was performed between 4 and 8 weeks after 14-day bismuth-containing quadruple eradication therapies. Factors potentially affecting H. pylori eradication were determined using a questionnaire survey.
Results: Serum vitamin D levels were significantly lower in the H. pylori+ group than in the H. pylori- group ([17.0 ± 6.9] ng/mL vs [19.2 ± 8.0] ng/mL, P = 0.000). H. pylori eradication rate significantly differed between patients with serum vitamin D levels of <10 ng/mL and ≥10 ng/mL (71.7% vs 87.3%, P = 0.005). A multivariate analysis showed that having serum vitamin D level ≥10 ng/mL was an independent risk factor for a successful H. pylori eradication (odds ratio 0.381, 95% confidence interval 0.183-0.791, P = 0.010).
Conclusions: Serum vitamin D level may affect H. pylori infection and its eradication. Randomized controlled trials are needed to find out whether vitamin D supplements may increase the H. pylori eradication rate.
Keywords: Helicobacter pylori; eradication; infection; vitamin D.
© 2019 The Authors. Journal of Digestive Diseases published by Chinese Medical Association Shanghai Branch, Chinese Society of Gastroenterology, Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.