Association of Helicobacter pylori IgG antibody with various demographic and biochemical parameters in kidney transplant recipients

Few reports are available regarding the promoting factors that affect Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in renal transplant (RTx) patients. We report a cross-sectional study that was conducted on a group of stable RTx patients to investigate the relationship of various demographic and biochemical parameters of these patients with serum H. pylori IgG antibody titer as a sign of H. pylori infection. A total of 72 patients who were referred to the clinic for continuing their treatment were enrolled in this study. These patients included 47 males and 25 females. The mean age of the study patients was 44 (±12) years. The mean length of time after they received a transplanted kidney was 67.5 (±42) months (median: 62 months). The mean value of serum H. pylori-specific IgG antibody titer among these patients was 3 (±4.6) U/mL (median: 1 U/mL), and that of intact parathormone (iPTH) was 18.4 (±8.2) pg/mL (median: 16.5 pg/mL). The mean serum magnesium (Mg) was 1.9 (±0.20) mg/dL (median: 1.9 mg/dL) and the mean creatinine clearance was 53 (±11) mL/min (median: 56 mL/min). In this study population, there was no significant difference in the H. pylori IgG antibody titers, serum iPTH, Mg, calcium, alkaline phosphatase and albumin levels as well as body mass index (BMI) between males and females or diabetics and non-diabetics. There was no significant relationship between serum H. pylori IgG antibody titers and the age of the patients, BMI, serum Alb, phosphorus, Ca, serum leptin and serum ALP. Significant negative correlation between serum H. pylori IgG antibody titers and serum Mg (r = -0.30, P = 0.01) and serum iPTH (r = -0.25, P = 0.03) was seen. A significant positive correlation was found between serum H. pylori IgG antibody titer and creatinine clearance (r = 0.26, P = 0.02), and a near-significant positive correlation was found with the duration of RTx (r = 0.20, P = 0.08). Our study shows that the correlation of H. pylori IgG antibody titer with some demographic and biochemical indices in RTx recipients may be different from what has been reported in hemodialysis patients. Larger clinical studies are needed to assess the clinical implications of our findings.