DOI: 10.1177/17562848261465720 ISSN: 1756-2848
Associations of
Helicobacter pylori
infection with NAFLD, MAFLD, MASLD, and Chinese MAFLD
Honglu Yu, Yuting Gao, Xiaomin Wang, Lan Chen, Yongguo Zhang, Hongyu Li, Nahum Méndez-Sánchez, Xingshun Qi
Background:
The association of
Helicobacter pylori
(
H. pylori
) infection with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remains controversial. Additionally, its associations with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), and Chinese MAFLD using the most recent diagnostic criteria were unclear.
Objective:
To analyze the associations of
H. pylori
infection with NAFLD, MAFLD, MASLD, and Chinese MAFLD.
Design:
Cross-sectional study.
Methods:
This study screened 1172 inpatients who underwent both
H. pylori
test and liver computed tomography or ultrasound examination between June 2020 and May 2024. Multivariate Logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the associations of
H. pylori
infection with the severity of hepatic steatosis and risk of hepatic fibrosis. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated after adjusting for gender, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, body mass index (BMI), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (HsCRP) in NAFLD analyses; age, gender, drinking, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, BMI, and HsCRP in MAFLD analyses; and gender, drinking, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, BMI, FPG, and HsCRP in MASLD and Chinese MAFLD analyses.
Results:
Overall, 875, 982, 869, and 869 patients were included in NAFLD, MAFLD, MASLD, and Chinese MAFLD analyses, respectively. In NAFLD, MAFLD, MASLD, and Chinese MAFLD analyses, 257, 302, 257, and 257 patients had
H. pylori
infection, respectively.
H. pylori
infection was independently associated with severe hepatic steatosis in NAFLD (aOR = 3.956; 95% CI = 1.171–13.359,
p
= 0.027), MAFLD (aOR = 3.730; 95% CI = 1.083–12.850,
p
= 0.037), and MASLD (aOR = 3.962; 95% CI = 1.158–13.557,
p
= 0.028) analyses, but not Chinese MAFLD analyses. However,
H. pylori
infection was not independently associated with the risk of hepatic fibrosis.
Conclusion:
H. pylori
infection may increase the severity of NAFLD, MAFLD, and MASLD, but not the risk of liver fibrosis.