Serological diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with a polycystic ovary syndrome

Abstract

Background: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in 4 - 6 of women in the reproductive age and is a common cause of infertility. Even though the number of investigations is scarce, studies show that Helicobacter pylori infection may influence reproduction. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine and compare the levels of H. pylori specific antibodies IgA, IgG and anti-CagA at both PCOS and non-PCOS women with their spouses using the serological test. Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 127 women with their spouses (age range, 30 - 60 years) were selected. These patient were referred to infertility center of Shariati Hospital in Tehran, Iran, with a diagnostic criteria of PCOS based on Androgen Excess Society (AES). The specific antibodies of IgA, IgG and anti-CagA were measured using the commercial Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kit. Results: The positive titers of H. pylori antibodies IgA, IgG and anti-CagA in the PCOS group were 45 (35), 79 (62) and 77 (60.5), respectively, while in non-PCOS group were 38 (30), 76 (60) and 50 (39.5), respectively. The sera positive for IgA, IgG and anti-CagA antibodies in spouses of the non-PCOS group were 38 (30), 84 (66) and 79 (62) respectively, but in spouses of the PCOS group were 51 (40), 83 (66) and 48 (38), respectively. The results showed that H. pylori infection probably did not affect infertility or reproduction. Conclusions: Findings of this study demonstrate no significant difference between levels of H. pylori specific antibodies of IgA, IgG, anti-CagA and the presence of PCOS disorders, and also indicate that serologic testing is a sensitive method for the detection of H. pylori antibodies. The high prevalence of H. pylori positive antibody levels in both PCOS and non-PCOS patients can be probably associated with the high frequency of H. pylori infection. © 2015, Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center