Relation between Helicobacter pylori infection and menopausal symptoms in diabetic women

Menopausal symptoms have marked negative impact on women’s physical and mental well-being and consumes substantial amount of health expenses. However, the relation between H. pylori infection and severity of menopausal symptoms is a scarcely discussed issue. The present cross-sectional study aims to explore the relation between H. pylori infection and severity of menopausal symptoms in diabetic women. The study included 150 postmenopausal diabetic women and 150 non-diabetic counterparts. H. pylori infection was assessed using a monoclonal enzyme immunoassay–based stool antigen test. Menopausal symptoms were evaluated using the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS). The present study included consecutive 150 diabetic and 150 non-diabetic postmenopausal women. Diabetic women had significantly higher frequency of severe menopausal symptoms (31.3% versus 14.0%, p<0.001) and significantly higher frequency of positive H. pylori infection (56.0% versus 40.7%, p = 0.011). Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis identified significant association between BMI [OR (95% CI): 1.09 (1.01–1.18), p = 0.022], hypertension [OR (95% CI): 3.97 (1.66–9.49), p = 0.002], HbA1c % [OR (95% CI): 1.18 (1.02–1.36), p = 0.029] and positive H. pylori infection [OR (95% CI): 4.09 (1.52-11.0), p = 0.005] and severe menopausal symptoms. Postmenopausal diabetic women had higher frequency of H. pylori infection which may be related to more severe menopausal symptoms in this population.