Infection with H. pylori is linked with NAFLD development, particularly moderate and severe NAFLD.

A meta-analysis aimed to explore the connection between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection.

Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and PubMed databases were explored. Only a random-effects model was employed. The combined estimation of the data adjusted for confounders were derived as adjusted ORs (aORs) and hazard ratios (aHRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) while for the combined estimations of the raw data, odds ratios (ORs) and risk ratios (RRs) along with 95% CIs were estimated.

Overall, 34 studies with 218573 individuals were incorporated. Unadjusted data from twenty-six cross-sectional studies and three case-control studies revealed a substantial association between H. pylori disease and the occurrence of NAFLD (OR = 1.26). Adjusted data from fifteen cross-sectional studies and one case-control research revealed a profound correlation between H. pylori disease and the occurrence of NAFLD (aOR = 1.25).

Subjects with moderate (OR = 1.67) and severe (OR = 1.71) NAFLD, but not those with mild NAFLD (OR = 1.14) showed a substantially greater percentage of H. pylori infection as contrasted with control participants without NAFLD. Based on data from 3 cohort studies that had been statistically adjusted, the link between H. pylori infection and the development of NAFLD was clinically meaningful (aHR = 1.18), but not from data that had been unadjusted (RR = 1.41).

Therefore, there is a positive correlation between NAFLD (moderate and severe) and H. pylori infection. It is pivotal to further explore the effect of eliminating H. pylori on NAFLD prevention.