Association of hypertension with helicobacter pylori: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background and aims The number of hypertensive population rises year by year recently, and their age becomes more youthful. For a long time, hypertension has long been regarded as a multi-factorial disease. In addition to smoking, genetics, diet and other factors, helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) had been regarded as a potential risk factor for hypertension in recent years. However, most studies had certain limitations and their results were inconsistent. Thus, it is necessary for us to assess the impact of H. pylori on hypertension through meta-analysis. Methods We searched all published relevant literature through multiple databases by July 23, 2021. Pooled results were calculated under the random effect model. Heterogeneity was evaluated by the Q statistic and the I-2 statistic. The risk of bias was evaluated via ROBINS-I tool. Publication bias was evaluated by the Egger test and Begg funnel plot. Results 6 eligible studies involving 11317 hypertensive patients and 12765 controls were selected from 20767 retrieval records. Our research confirmed that H. pylori significantly increased the probability of suffering from hypertension in the random effect model (OR:1.34, 95% CI:1.10-1.63, P = 0.002, I-2 = 74%). The same results were also found in both Asian population and developing country (OR:1.28, 95% CI:1.05-1.55, P = 0.003, I-2 = 78.5%). Conclusions Our results confirmed that H. pylori was a vital risk factor for hypertension. H. pylori-infected people were 13.4% higher risk for hypertension than uninfected individuals. In addition, it will be a new method to prevent and treat hypertension by eradicating H. pylori.