Helicobacter pylori infection, hyperuricemia, and serum uric acid levels: The role of metabolic, renal, and inflammatory factors in a large health examination population
- 1Department of Nursing, Shanghai Health and Medical Center, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China
- 2Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Shanghai Health and Medical Center, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China
- 3Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shanghai Health and Medical Center, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China
Abstract
Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection has been linked to several extragastric metabolic disorders. However, its cross-sectional association with hyperuricemia remains uncertain, partly because previous studies have often been limited by small sample sizes and incomplete adjustment for metabolic and renal factors. Methods: This large-scale cross-sectional study used data from a health examination database. The main regression analyses included 67,826 participants with valid H. pylori status, serum uric acid measurements, hyperuricemia classification, age, sex, and BMI. Modified Poisson regression with a log link and HC0 robust sandwich variance was used to estimate prevalence ratios for hyperuricemia, while linear regression with HC3 heteroscedasticity-robust standard errors was used for continuous serum uric acid. Sex-stratified and robustness analyses were also performed. Results: In the unadjusted model, H. pylori infection was associated with higher prevalence of hyperuricemia (PR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.22–1.32, p < 0.001). This association was progressively attenuated after sequential adjustment and was small in the extended clinical model (PR = 1.02, 95% CI: 0.98–1.06, p = 0.269). For continuous serum uric acid, H. pylori positivity remained associated with a small increase after full adjustment (β = 2.14 μmol/L, 95% CI: 0.80–3.49, p = 0.002). Functional-form sensitivity analyses yielded similarly small effect estimates for hyperuricemia, although statistical significance varied across model specifications. Sex-stratified and robustness analyses were generally consistent with these findings. Conclusion: In this large health examination population, any remaining association between H. pylori positivity and hyperuricemia after comprehensive adjustment was small and sensitive to model specification. H. pylori positivity was also associated with a statistically detectable but clinically modest difference in continuous serum uric acid levels. Given the cross-sectional design, these findings should not be interpreted causally.
Related
- Machine learning-based analysis of risk factors and construction of a predictive model for hyperuricemia in Chinese health examination population
- Incidentally Detected Persistent Helicobacter heilmannii Gastritis in a Korean Woman With a Normal Endoscopic Examination: Successful Eradication After Salvage Therapy
- Helicobacter pylori infection, histological gradient, and lesion phenotype specificity in colorectal neoplasia: a three-group analysis of 1556 adults undergoing colonoscopy in China
- Helicobacter pylori Infection in Rome IV Functional Dyspepsia: Association with the Epigastric Pain Syndrome Phenotype and Long-Term Response to Eradication
- Halitosis and Helicobacter pylori Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
BibTeX
@article{xu2026helicobacter,
title = {{Helicobacter pylori infection, hyperuricemia, and serum uric acid levels: The role of metabolic, renal, and inflammatory factors in a large health examination population}},
author = {Zhiyue Xu and Xiuyu Wang and Jie Huang and Chunxing Liu and Yong Fang},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0358039},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358039},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Helicobacter pylori infection, hyperuricemia, and serum uric acid levels: The role of metabolic, renal, and inflammatory factors in a large health examination population
AU - Zhiyue Xu
AU - Xiuyu Wang
AU - Jie Huang
AU - Chunxing Liu
AU - Yong Fang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/10
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0358039
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358039
AB - Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection has been linked to several extragastric metabolic disorders. However, its cross-sectional association with hyperuricemia remains uncertain, partly because previous studies have often been limited by small sample sizes and incomplete adjustment for metabolic and renal factors. Methods: This large-scale cross-sectional study used data from a health examination database. The main regression analyses included 67,826 participants with valid H. pylori status, serum uric acid measurements, hyperuricemia classification, age, sex, and BMI. Modified Poisson regression with a log link and HC0 robust sandwich variance was used to estimate prevalence ratios for hyperuricemia, while linear regression with HC3 heteroscedasticity-robust standard errors was used for continuous serum uric acid. Sex-stratified and robustness analyses were also performed. Results: In the unadjusted model, H. pylori infection was associated with higher prevalence of hyperuricemia (PR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.22–1.32, p < 0.001). This association was progressively attenuated after sequential adjustment and was small in the extended clinical model (PR = 1.02, 95% CI: 0.98–1.06, p = 0.269). For continuous serum uric acid, H. pylori positivity remained associated with a small increase after full adjustment (β = 2.14 μmol/L, 95% CI: 0.80–3.49, p = 0.002). Functional-form sensitivity analyses yielded similarly small effect estimates for hyperuricemia, although statistical significance varied across model specifications. Sex-stratified and robustness analyses were generally consistent with these findings. Conclusion: In this large health examination population, any remaining association between H. pylori positivity and hyperuricemia after comprehensive adjustment was small and sensitive to model specification. H. pylori positivity was also associated with a statistically detectable but clinically modest difference in continuous serum uric acid levels. Given the cross-sectional design, these findings should not be interpreted causally.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -