Abstract:

Objective To investigate the effect of Helicobacter pylori（HP）infection on serum homocysteine （Hcy） level and cognitive function in patients with vascular dementia after cerebral infarction（CI-VD）. Methods Ninety patients with CI-VD who were hospitalized from February 2020 to August 2022 were enrolled as study group，and another 90 patients without CI-VD were enrolled as control group. The general information，HP infection rate，serum Hcy level and mini-mental state examination（MMSE）scores of the 2 groups were compared. The study group was classified into positive infection group and negative infection group. Serum Hcy level and MMSE score were compared between positive and negative infection groups. The relationship between HP infection and serum Hcy level and MMSE score in patients with vascular dementia after cerebral infarction was analyzed. Results The infection rate of HP in study group was higher than that in control group，serum Hcy level was higher than that in control group，and the MMSE score was lower than that in control group（P<0.001）. The serum Hcy level of patients with HP positive infection in study group was higher than that of patients with negative infection，and the MMSE score was lower than that of patients with negative infection（P<0.001）. Serum HP infection was positively correlated with Hcy level（r=0.382，P<0.001），and it was negatively correlated with MMSE score（r=-0.396，P<0.001）. Conclusions There is a correlation between HP infection and serum Hcy level and cognitive function in patients with vascular dementia after cerebral infarction. Serum Hcy level and MMSE score can be used to assess patients' condition.

Key words: Helicobacter pylori, Cerebral infarction, Vascular dementia, Homocysteine, Cognitive function