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EFFICACY STUDIES/ SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES
 

Relation of Serum Ascorbic Acid to Helicobacter pylori Serology in US Adults: The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

 
Purpose:

To examine the relation between serum ascorbic acid and Helicobacter pylori serology from a probability sample of US adults.

 
Results:

A total of 2,189 adults (32%) had a positive serology for H. pylori, and, of these, 1,175 (54%) were positive for the CagA antigen. Among whites, a 0.50 mg/dL increase in serum ascorbic acid level was associated with decreased seroprevalence of H. pylori (Odds Ratio (OR) = 0.89, 95% confidence interval (CI) CI 0.82–0.96, p < 0.01). In analyses that controlled for seroprevalence of H. pylori, a 0.50 mg/dL increase in serum ascorbic acid level among whites was independently associated with a decreased seroprevalence of the pathogenic cagA-positive strain of H. pylori (OR = 0.31, 95% CI 0.12–0.79, p < 0.05). Serum ascorbic acid levels were not significantly associated with H. pylori serology among non-whites (all p > 0.05).

 
Conclusions:
Higher serum levels of ascorbic acid were associated with a decreased seroprevalence of H. pylori and of the pathogenic cagA-positive strain of H. pylori among whites. If these associations are related causally and are not the result of residual confounding by factors such as socioeconomic status, ascorbic acid may affect the risk of H. pylori infection and in turn, the risk for peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer among white Americans.
 

References:

1.  

Simon, JA, Hudes, ES, and Perez-Perez, GI. 2003. Relation of Serum Ascorbic Acid to Helicobacter pylori Serology in US Adults: the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey . Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 22(4): 283-289.