Helicobacter pylori eradication and the prevention of peptic ulcer bleeding and cardiovascular disease progression in chronic aspirin users

Table 8 Cox regression analysis for predictors of time-to-first-peptic ulcer bleeding and time-to-first-cardiovascular-disease-progression

Variable	Adjusted hazard ratio	95%CI	P value
Predictors of PUB
H. pylori infection	4.2	2.1-8.3	< 0.001
Low albumin levels	2.8	1.5-5.2	0.002
Diabetes mellitus	1.3	0.8-2.0	0.28
Age	1.1	0.9-1.3	0.32
Sex (male)	1.2	0.8-1.8	0.45
Predictors of CV disease progression
H. pylori infection	3.5	1.8-6.7	< 0.001
Multivessel coronary disease at baseline	2.8	1.5-5.2	0.001
Diabetes mellitus	1.6	1.0-2.5	0.045
Age	1	0.9-1.2	0.55
Sex (male)	1.1	0.8-1.5	0.6

Adjusted for age, sex, diabetes mellitus, baseline albumin, adherence, and antithrombotic regimen intensity. Cardiovascular (CV) progression models also adjusted for baseline multivessel coronary disease. Hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated using Cox proportional hazards regression. Models for peptic ulcer bleeding (PUB) were adjusted for age, sex, diabetes mellitus, baseline albumin levels, adherence to treatment, and antithrombotic regimen intensity (dual vs triple therapy). Models for CV disease progression were adjusted for the same covariates plus baseline multivessel coronary disease. Proportional hazards assumptions were verified using Schoenfeld residuals (all P > 0.05). Complete-case analysis was used (n = 400 for PUB models; n = 188 for CV disease progression models, restricted to patients with baseline CV disease). The adjusted HR for Helicobacter pylori infection predicting PUB (4.2) was coincidentally identical to the adjusted odds ratio from the logistic regression model (Table 9), as both models were adjusted for the same set of covariates. CV: Cardiovascular; H. pylori: Helicobacter pylori; PUB: Peptic ulcer bleeding; CI: Confidence interval.