Ultrasonographic assessment of femoral cartilage thickness in patients with Helicobacter pylori infection

Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) is described by the loss and degradation of articular cartilage. 1 Cartilage degeneration is a phenomenon that accelerates over time, as the prevalence of osteoarthritis increases with age. Regardless, old age is not an absolute risk factor as the severity of osteoarthritis in older patients is very variable. Articular cartilage is formed from water, collagen, proteoglycans, electrolytes and chondrocytes, and alterations in cartilage composition may initiate the degenerative process. 2Helicobacter pylori (HP) prevalence is 10%-50% in developed countries and 80% in developing countries, the annual incidence being 1% and 5%-10%, respectively. The epidemiology of HP varies widely according to age, socioeconomic status and geographic area. 3 HP often settles in the upper areas of the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in chronic gastritis. Moreover, HP is a bacterium that can potentially trigger inflammatory disease. [4][5][6] In recent years, OA has been proposed as an inflammatory disease with inflammatory mediators released by cartilage, bone and synovium. 7 Therefore, we hypothesise that HP infections may increase the risk of cartilage degeneration. The effect of HP on distal femoral cartilage has yet to be evaluated. This study aimed to investigate whether there were any differences between the femoral cartilage thickness of HP-positive patients and an HP-negative control group. An ultrasound, which is a