NEW YORK, Jun 07 (Reuters Health) -- It is well known that many people who take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) regularly to relieve chronic pain are at increased risk for bleeding ulcers. Now, a new study in the June issue of the journal Gastroenterology suggests that this risk is nearly doubled for NSAID users who are also infected with the ulcer-linked bacteria Helicobacter pylori.
NSAIDs may play a role in causing stomach ulcers because in addition to blocking an enzyme responsible for pain and inflammation, they also shut down an enzyme that protects the gastrointestinal system. Scientists are not exactly sure how H. pylori infection causes ulcers, but studies show that most ulcers can be cured if H. pylori is eradicated with a course of antibiotics.
The new findings suggest "a potential for halving the risk of ulcer complications among NSAID users by eradicating H. pylori," write the team, led by Dr. Claus Aalykke of the departments of medical gastroenterology and geriatrics at Odense University Hospital in Odense, Denmark.
Aalykke and colleagues found that NSAID-users infected with H. pylori have close to a two-fold increased risk of developing a bleeding peptic ulcer, compared with NSAID-users who are not infected with H. pylori.
In addition, H. pylori accounted for about one-quarter of bleeding peptic ulcers among elderly NSAID users, the investigators report.
Each year, 350,000 to 500,000 Americans develop peptic ulcers, or irritations or sores in the lining of the stomach that can cause stomach pain and bleeding, according to the American Digestive Health Foundation.
SOURCE: Gastroenterology 1999;116:1305-1309.
