Helicobacter pylori Infection Is AssociatedWith an Increased Rate of Diabetes

OBJECTIVEdChronic infections could be contributing to the socioeconomic gradient in chronic diseases. Although chronic infections have been associated with increased levels of in-flammatory cytokines and cardiovascular disease, there is limited evidence on how infections affect risk of diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSdWe examined the association between sero-logical evidence of chronic viral and bacterial infections and incident diabetes in a prospective cohort of Latino elderly. We analyzed data on 782 individuals aged.60 years and diabetes-free in 1998–1999, whose blood was tested for antibodies to herpes simplex virus 1, varicella virus, cytomegalovirus, Helicobacter pylori, and Toxoplasma gondii and who were followed until June 2008. We used Cox proportional-hazards regression to estimate the relative incidence rate of diabetes by serostatus, with adjustment for age, sex, education, cardiovascular disease, smoking, and cholesterol levels. RESULTSdIndividuals seropositive for herpes simplex virus 1, varicella virus, cytomegalovi-rus, and T. gondii did not show an increased rate of diabetes, whereas those whowere seropositive for H. pylori at enrollment were 2.7 times more likely at any given time to develop diabetes tha