The Rate of Helicobacter pylori Seropositivity in a Group of Korean Patients with HLA-B27-Associated Acute Anterior Uveitis

Purpose To investigate an association between Helicobacter pylori seropositivity and HLA-B27-positive acute anterior uveitis (AAU) in Korean patients. Methods Retrospective analysis was performed with data from 106 patients previously diagnosed with AAU without clinical evidence of spondyloarthropathy. Serum immunoglobulin G antibodies to H . pylori were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and HLA typing was performed using polymerase chain reaction of DNA amplification. We included 72 non-uveitis patients and 35 age- and sex-matched healthy controls in the study. Results Of the 106 patients with AAU, 41 (38.7%) were HLA-B27-positive, and 45 (42.5%) were seropositive for H . pylori . Patients with HLA-B27-positive AAU had a significantly lower prevalence of H . pylori seropositivity compared to those with HLA-B27-negative AAU and healthy controls (24.4% vs . 53.8%, p = 0.003; 24.4% vs . 57.1%, p = 0.004, respectively). In the non-uveitis group, however, HLA-B27-positive patients exhibited similar H . pylori seropositivity prevalence to HLA-B27-negative patients and healthy controls (45.5% vs . 55.7%, p = 0.529; 45.5% vs . 57.1%, p = 0.497, respectively). In multivariate analysis, a low prevalence of H . pylori seropositivity was significantly associated with HLA-B27-positive AAU (odds ratio = 0.340, 95% confidence interval 0.135–0.855, p = 0.022). Conclusions Our results suggest an inverse association between H . pylori seropositivity and HLA-B27-positive AAU. Further investigation of this association is needed, given the low prevalence of H . pylori seropositivity observed in patients with HLA-B27-positive AAU.