The seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea: a preliminary study.

We investigated the seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea. A prospective clinical study consisting of 19 patients, aged 23-72 years with confirmed obstructive sleep apnoea by overnight polysomnography, and 36 control subjects, aged 25-61 years with no history of obstructive sleep apnoea and gastroesophageal reflux complaints, was conducted. Titres of serum H. pylori IgG antibody were assayed by a serum enzyme-linked immunoabsorbant assay. The difference between the study and control groups was analysed by chi-squared test. Seventeen of the 19 patients (89.5%) were found to be H. pylori positive. However, 21 of the 36 control subjects (58.3%) were H. pylori positive. The seropositivity of H. pylori in obstructive sleep apnoea patients was found to be significantly higher than the control group (P = 0.017). The result of our study shows that there is a high association between H. pylori infection and obstructive sleep apnoea. This data may be important for future treatment strategies of the disease.