Association between Helicobacter pylori infection and food-specific immunoglobulin G in Southwest China

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has been found to be associated with extragastrointestinal diseases, possibly including adverse food reactions (such as food allergy or intolerance). However, there are few studies on H. pylori and food allergy or intolerance, and the results are inconsistent. Food-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) G has been revealed to be associated with food allergy or intolerance and can be used as a marker to explore the correlation between H. pylori infection and food allergy or intolerance. AIM: To explore the relationship between H. pylori infection and food-specific IgG METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the physical examination data of 21822 subjects from February 2014 to December 2018 in this study. H. pylori infection was detected using the (13)C urea breath test. Food-specific IgG of eggs, milk and wheat in serum was assessed. Subjects were grouped according to H. pylori positivity, and the positive rates of three kinds of food-specific IgG were compared between the two groups. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to elucidate the association between H. pylori infection and food-specific IgG. RESULTS: The total infection rate of H. pylori was 39.3%, and the total food-specific IgG-positive rates of eggs, milk and wheat were 25.2%, 9.0% and 4.9%, respectively. The infection rate of H. pylori was higher in males than in females, while the positive rates of food-specific IgG were lower in males than in females. The positive rates of food-specific IgG decreased with age in both males and females. In the H. pylori-positive groups, the positive rates of food-specific IgG of eggs, milk and wheat were all lower than those in the H. pylori-negative groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that H. pylori infection was negatively correlated with the food-specific IgG-positive rates of eggs, milk and wheat (odds ratio value of eggs 0.844-0.873, milk 0.741-0.751 and wheat 0.755-0.788, in different models). CONCLUSION: H. pylori infection was found to be negatively associated with the food-specific IgG of eggs, milk and wheat in Southwest China.