Patients with Newly Diagnosed Multiple Sclerosis Are Less Seropositive for Helicobacter Pylori Infection: A Case Control Study in Iran

Abstract

Background

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common chronic demyelinating disease of the central nervous system with various potential etiology, including infectious disease. The number of studies on the association between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and MS is limited. So, in this study, we aimed to assess the relation between H. pylori infection and MS in Kerman city, the center of the largest province in Iran.

Materials and Methods:

 In a case-control study, 71 patients with newly diagnosed MS and 145 sex- and age-matched controls were included. Blood samples for IgG anti-HP antibodies were collected from all individuals. SPSS software version 22 was used for data analysis. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results:

71 patients with newly diagnosed MS consisted of 48 (67.6%) women and 23 (32.39%) men were included in our study. The mean age was 43±10 years. The mean ages in the case and control groups were 43.83±10.40 and 44.41±16.30 years, respectively (p= 0.114). The control group more commonly had used smoking (p =0.814). Alcohol consumption was higher in the control group (p =0.965). More than 40% of the patients in the case group and 55.17% in the control group had body mass index (BMI)>25 (p =0.074). H. pylori seropositivity was observed in 61.97% of the MS group compared with 76.55% of the non-MS group (p =0.021).

Conclusion:

 We concluded that patients with newly diagnosed MS had low H. pylori seropositivity, so H. pylori infection may have a protective effect against MS.