Bacteria that causes ulcers could increase risk of diabetes

Mon, 06 Feb 2012
Bacteria called Helicobacter pylori that cause ulcers could be linked to a doubling of the risk of type 2 diabetes later in life, it has emerged. It is believed the bacteria could change conditions in the gut or be responsible for inflammation that might contribute to the development of diabetes.

Research into the ulcer-causing bug, involving nearly 800 diabetes-free Latino adults in California being monitored for over 10 years, showed that although the bacteria doesn’t actually result in diabetes, it was closely related to predicting the development of the metabolic condition. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States has estimated that around two-thirds of people around the world have the infection, although most never experience any of the symptoms.

Although previous studies that assessed the link between H. pylori and diabetes were inconclusive, this research, published in the journal Diabetes Care, went further by focusing on whether one condition might cause the other. It was found that, once other factors were taken into account, the risk of developing diabetes was 2.7 times higher among the group of people who had the infection.

The fact that the study tracked participants over time and was able to determine that diabetes diagnosesdiabetes diagnoses occurred after people were infected with H. pylori means that there is more credence to a potential causal relationship. In addition, the researchers found no direct link between diabetes and other infections, such as herpes, varicella virus and cytomegalovirus.

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