<i>Helicobacter pylori</i> infection-induced changes in the intestinal microbiota of 14-year-old or 15-year-old Japanese adolescents: a cross-sectional study.

Abstract

The relationship between <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> and the intestinal microbiota has not yet been clearly demonstrated in children and adolescents. The present study aimed at evaluating how <i>H. pylori</i> infection could affect the intestinal microbiota in adolescents using genetic analysis. Cross-sectional study. We included subjects from a longitudinal project involving <i>H. pylori</i> screening and treatment of junior high school third-grade students (aged 14 or 15 years) in Saga Prefecture. The study included a control group (n=79) and an <i>H. pylori</i> group (n=80) tested negative and positive for the anti-<i>H. pylori</i> antibody in the urine and <i>H. pylori</i> antigen in stool specimens, respectively. The intestinal microbiota was evaluated in stool specimens using 16S rRNA gene/DNA/amplicon sequencing with next-generation sequencing. We assessed alpha and beta diversity, just as well as relative abundances within the bacterial composition at the genus level in both groups. As shown by the alpha diversity of the 16S rRNA gene/DNA/amplicon sequence data, the control group exhibited lower microbial species richness with lower alpha diversity compared with the <i>H. pylori</i> group (p<0.001). The beta diversity of the intestinal microbiota profile also differed between the two groups (p<0.01). The relative abundance of the <i>Prevotella</i> genus was higher in the <i>H. pylori</i> group (p<0.01) concomitant with a gain in body mass index (BMI) in the <i>H. pylori</i> group (p<0.01) compared with the control group. <i>H. pylori</i> infection significantly affected the intestinal microbiota in Japanese adolescents. In addition, the prevalence of the <i>Prevotella</i> genus is concomitantly increased along with the BMI in <i>H. pylori</i>-infected students. UMIN000028721.