IDDF2024-ABS-0242 The relationship between helicobacter pylori infection-induced gastrointestinal symptoms and gut microbiota: a youth-based study

<h3>Background</h3> <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> (<i>H. pylori</i>) is a gram-negative bacterium and dominant microorganism in gastric. In this study, we aimed to analyze the infection rate of <i>H.pylori</i> and risk factors, as well as the gut microbiota composition in young individuals. <h3>Methods</h3> Regular dietary habits were ascertained through the administration of a food-frequency questionnaire. To scremming the positive, all participants were tested by using the <i>H.pylori</i> Antigen Detection Kit. And fecal samples were collected from two groups after a 1:1 height, weight, sex and age match. The composition of gut microbiota was assessed by 16S rRNA sequencing. To investigate the relationships between dietary factors and α- and β-diversity indices, as well as relative taxa abundances, we employed statistical analyses including Spearman correlations, permutational ANOVAs, and multivariate linear models. <h3>Results</h3> Participants included 26.23% (214/816) males and 73.77% (602/816) females, with an average age of 22 ± 8 years, and an average BMI of 20.27±2.67 kg/m². The fecal antigen test showed that the infection rate of <i>H.pylori</i> was 7.23% (59/816). On the dimension of abdomen pain, esophageal reflux, indigestion and diarrhea were different between groups of <i>H. pylori</i> positive (HP) and <i>H. pylori</i> negative (HN). However, there was no significant between the two groups based on the questionnaires. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing shows no significant differences between the HP and HN groups in terms of alpha diversity, including the Ace and Shannon indices, but the HP group has no statistical decrease. We identified that the <i>Holdemanella</i>, <i>Megamonas</i> and <i>Catenibacterium</i> were associated with the severity of gastrointestinal symptoms. Furthermore, our results indicated that the consumption of pickled foods was negatively correlated with the diversity of gut microbiota. <h3>Conclusions</h3> The infection rate of <i>H.pylori</i> was 7.23%. There were no significant differences between the two groups in lifestyle, eating preferences, and taste habits. But the HP group apparently had more severe gastric symptoms. Moreover, the microbial diversity was similar between the two groups. We further explored that <i>Holdemanella</i>, <i>Megamonas</i> and <i>Catenibacterium</i> were associated with the severity of gastrointestinal symptoms and the consumption of pickled foods was negatively correlated with the diversity of gut microbiota.