AUTHOR=Zhang Dong-Hong , Yuan Chen , Wang Bei-Bei , Dong Xin-Jiang , Lv Shu-Ping , Li Fei-Hong , Hou Zhen-Xiu , Liu Xiao-Li , Chen Kang 

TITLE=Helicobacter pylori Infection Maybe a Risk Factor for Cardiac Syndrome X

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2022.823885

DOI=10.3389/fcvm.2022.823885

ISSN=2297-055X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Purpose</title><p>Cardiac syndrome X (CSX) is a condition with normal coronary angiography but angina pectoris. Chronic inflammation caused by <italic>Helicobacter pylori</italic> (<italic>H. pylori</italic>) infection may play a pathogenic role in CSX. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to explore the relationship between <italic>H. pylori</italic> infection and risk of CSX.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>A systematic search in the Web of Science, Medline, Embase and Chinese databases (CNKI and Wanfang) was conducted up to October 2021. Articles on the association between <italic>H. pylori</italic> infection and the risk of CSX were included and were analyzed by R software (version 4.1.0).</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Ten case-control studies involving 703 CSX patients and 731 healthy controls were included. <italic>H. pylori</italic> infection was associated with an increased risk of CSX (OR: 8.29, 95% CI: 4.64–14.82). We also found a significant association in those 25–40 years of age (OR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.04–1.72), those 40–50 years of age (OR: 11.27, 95% CI: 4.29–29.61), those over 50 years of age (OR: 7.18, 95% CI: 3.59–14.36), those in developing countries [Iran (OR: 12.99, 95% CI: 8.61–19.60) and China (OR: 5.14, 95% CI: 3.09–8.56)]. However, this association was not apparent in a developed country [Italy (OR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.37–2.33)].</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusions</title><p>Our study suggested a possible association between <italic>H. pylori</italic> infection and the risk of CSX. Its pathogenicity is stronger in middle-aged individuals and some developing countries. However, more studies are needed to further investigate whether early eradication of <italic>H. pylori</italic> can reduce the incidence rate of CSX, especially in middle-aged individuals and some developing countries.</p></sec>