Helicobacter pylori infection is not a correlate of plasma fibrinogen in the Australian population

Plasma fibrinogen concentration is an important independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Studies into whether Helicobacter pylori infection and fibrinogen are associated have yielded inconsistent results. Despite the geographical variation in fibrinogen and prevalence of H. pylori infection, all studies to date have been undertaken in the United Kingdom or Italy. The association between H. pylori infection and fibrinogen was investigated in 324 adults, 65% of a random sample, in an Australian regional city. The mean plasma fibrinogen concentration in 98 infected participants (2.52 g/l) was similar to that in 226 non-infected subjects (2.58 g/l, P = 0.51); 95% confidence interval on the difference was - 0.23-0.11 g/l. After including all potential confounding factors in a backward multiple linear regression analysis, H. pylori was still not associated with fibrinogen (P = 0.084). Any association between H. pylori and cardiovascular disease in Australia is not mediated through fibrinogen.