Microbiota – ABC CARDIOL

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Editorial

Mendelian Randomization in Atrial Fibrillation

Gut microbiota (GM) is an important mediator of several diseases, such as diabetes, atherosclerosis, arterial hypertension, obesity, cancers, and neuropsychiatric diseases, including Alzheimer’s, autism, and depression. The intestinal microbiota is formed by a variety of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and archaea; its main function is to facilitate the absorption and metabolism of foods (proteins, fats, and carbohydrates). One example of the multiple actions of the GM is the bidirectional relationship between the intestine and the brain, the so-called “gut/brain axis.” Furthermore, metabolites produced by GM can induce effects locally or at a distance, which suggests that the intestine is an endocrine organ.

The intestinal microbiota is made up of trillions of cells – about 10 times more than all the cells of the human organism. The phyla Firmicutes (mainly Clostridia species) and Bacteroidetes represent about 90% of GM, which is also composed of Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia.

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Original Article

Association between Helicobacter Pylori Infection and Systemic Arterial Hypertension: A Meta-Analysis

Mengyun Huang et al. Lijun Zhu Yuelong Jin Zhengmei Fang … Yan Chen Yingshui Yao

Abstract

Background:

Recent epidemiological studies have shown that alterations in microbiota and its metabolites are associated with systemic arterial hypertension. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is one of the most common bacterial pathogens, and the potential association between H. pylori infection and hypertension are controversial.

Objective:

This study aimed to clarify their association and provide a new theoretical basis for uncovering the pathogenesis of hypertension.

Methods:

Case-control and cross-sectional studies on the association between H. pylori and hypertension published from 1996 to 2019 indexed in PubMed, Google Scholar, Chinese Wan Fang Data, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). The pooled odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated. I2 was performed to evaluate the statistical heterogeneity. Publication bias was evaluated using Begg’s and Egger’s test. The extracted data was analyzed in Stata 12.0. Statistical significance was defined as p-value < 0.05.

Results:

A total of 17 studies involving 6,376 cases of hypertension and 10,850 controls were enrolled. H. pylori infection rate in hypertension patients and controls were 64.9% and 56.3%, respectively. A significantly positive association was shown between H. pylori infection and hypertension with an overall OR of 2.07 (95% CI: 1.46–2.94; p < 0.05). Subgroup analysis revealed that the prevalence of H. pylori infection was associated with hypertension in the region of Asia and the case-control group, ORs (95% CI) were 2.26 (1.51-3.38) and 2.53 (1.72-3.72), respectively. After stratifying by detection methods, differences still existed in subgroups (all p < 0.05).

Conclusion:

This meta-analysis indicated that H. pylori infection is positively associated with hypertension.