Smoking and Helicobacter Pylori Infection: An Individual Participant Pooled Analysis (Stomach Cancer Pooling-Stop Project) Publisher Pubmed



Ferro A¹ ; Morais S¹ ; Pelucchi C³ ; Aragones N⁵ ; Kogevinas M^{6, 7, 8, 9} ; Lopezcarrillo L¹⁰ ; Malekzadeh R¹² ; Tsugane S¹⁴ ; Hamada GS¹⁵ ; Hidaka A¹⁴ ; Hernandezramirez RU^{10, 24} ; Lopezcervantes M¹¹ ; Zaridze D¹⁶ ; Maximovitch D¹⁶ Show All Authors Show Affiliations
Source: European Journal of Cancer Prevention Published:2019

Abstract

Smoking has been associated with acquisition and increased persistence of Helicobacter pylori infection, as well as with lower effectiveness of its eradication. A greater prevalence of infection among smokers could contribute to the increased risk for gastric cancer. We aimed to estimate the association between smoking and seropositivity to H. pylori through an individual participant data pooled analysis using controls from 14 case-control studies participating in the Stomach Cancer Pooling Project. Summary odds ratios and prevalence ratios (PRs), adjusted for age, sex and social class, and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated through random-effects meta-analysis. Heterogeneity was quantified using the I2 statistic and publication bias with Egger's test. There was no significant association between smoking (ever vs. never) and H. pylori seropositivity (adjusted odds ratio = 1.08; 95% CI: 0.89-1.32; adjusted PR = 1.01; 95% CI: 0.98-1.05). The strength of the association did not increase with the intensity or duration of smoking; stratified analyses according to sex, age, region or type of sample did not yield a consistent pattern of variation or statistically significant results, except for participants younger than 55 years and who had been smoking for more than 30 years (adjusted PR = 1.08; 95% CI: 1.02-1.15). This is the first collaborative analysis providing pooled estimates for the association between smoking and H. pylori seropositivity, based on detailed and uniform information and adjusting for major covariates. The results do not support an association between smoking and H. pylori infection. © 2018 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.