Helicobacter pylori infection is not an independent risk factor of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in China

BACKGROUND: The role of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remains controversial. The exact relationship requires further investigation. This study aimed to determine the association between them in China. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on 71,633 participants who underwent physical examinations. (13)C urea breath test ((13)C-UBT) was conducted to detect H. pylori infection, and ultrasonography was used to detect NAFLD. RESULTS: Body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP), and triglyceride (TG) levels were higher in participants with H. pylori infection than in those without H. pylori infection. While the levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) for participants with H. pylori infection was lower than without H. pylori infection (P < 0.001). After adjusting for confounding factors (age, sex, BMI, BP, Scr, BUN, LDL-C, HDL-C, triglycerides, FBG and HbA1c), multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that there was no independent relationship between them (P = 0.574). Subgroup analysis (stratified by sex, age, BMI, hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia) showed that H. pylori infection was not included as an independent risk factor for NAFLD. Moreover, the different grades of NAFLD were not related to H. pylori infection. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that H. pylori infection is not an independent risk factor for NAFLD in China. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12876-022-02148-6.