Association between ulcerative colitis and Helicobacter pylori infection: A case-control study

Introduction: Ulcerative Colitis (UC), a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), is defined as chronic inflammation of the superficial mucosal layer of the large intestine. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) colonization, and UC in Palestine. Methods: A total of 35 Palestinian patients of UC and 105 age-matched and gender-matched controls were retrospectively studied for a period of one year. Diagnosis of ulcerative colitis was based on both colonoscopy and biopsy. The presence of H. pylori in the stomach was evaluated by the H. pylori stool antigen test (HpSA). An interview-based data collection form was filled for all patients with UC before starting the test. Results: The overall positivity of H. pylori infection in patients with UC was 14.3%, significantly lower than the control group, 41.9% (odds ratios (OR) = 0.23, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.083-0.643, P-value = 0.003). Interestingly, the presence of H. pylori showed no correlation with the extension of UC (P-value = 0.44). Moreover, there were no relationships between the presence of H. pylori and age (P-value = 0.97), gender (P-value = 0.26), smoking (P-value = 0.08), and medication regimen (P-value = 0.80). Conclusion: The rate of H. pylori infection was significantly lower in patients with UC compared with the control group suggesting a protective role of H. pylori against the occurrence of UC.