Chlamydia pneumoniae and Helicobacter pylori IgG seropositivities are not predictors of osteoporosis‑associated bone loss: a prospective cohort study

The potential link between infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae or Helicobacter pylori and osteoporosis has not been investigated in population-based longitudinal studies. A total of 250 healthy postmenopausal women who participated in a prospective cohort study were evaluated for IgG antibodies directed against C. pneumoniae and H. pylori, osteoprotegerin (OPG), the receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand (RANKL), CrossLaps, and osteocalcin. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured at the femoral neck and lumbar spine at baseline and at follow- up 5.8 years later. There were no significant differences in age-adjusted bone turnover markers, OPG, RANKL, the RANKL/OPG ratio, and BMD between the C. pneumoniae and H. pylori IgG seropositive and seronegative subjects (P > 0.05). Neither C. pneumoniae nor H. pylori IgG seropositivity was associated with age-and body massindex-adjusted BMD at the femoral neck and lumbar spine or bone loss at the 5.8-year follow-up. In logistic regression analysis, neither C. pneumoniae nor H. pylori IgG seropositivities predicted incident lumbar or spine osteoporosis 5.8 years later. In conclusion, neither C. pneumoniae nor H. pylori IgG seropositivity was associated with bone turnover markers, the RANKL/OPG ratio, BMD, or bone loss in postmenopausal women. In addition, chronic infection with C. pneumoniae or H. pylori did not predict incident osteoporosis among this group of wome