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Erosive Esophagitis in Asymptomatic Subjects: Risk Factors

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Abstract

Introduction

Asymptomatic erosive esophagitis is a common yet rarely reported disease. The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence of asymptomatic erosive esophagitis and to identify the risk factors for this disease.

Materials and Methods

In this study, we investigated 572 asymptomatic subjects undergoing health check-ups after upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. The severity of esophagitis was evaluated by the Los Angeles classification, and the independent risk factors for asymptomatic esophagitis were analyzed by the logistic regression method.

Results

The results showed the prevalence of erosive esophagitis in asymptomatic subjects was 12% (70/572). In all asymptomatic subjects, erosive esophagitis was grade A (71%) or B (29%). Univariate analysis revealed that male gender, high body mass index (BMI), and consumption of tobacco, alcohol, tea, spicy foods, and betel nut were associated with the development of erosive esophagitis. Multivariate analysis revealed that male gender (OR, 3.8, 95% CI, 1.5–9.3) and high BMI (BMI 25–30: OR, 2.3, 95% CI, 1.3–4.2; BMI >30: OR, 3.8, 95% CI, 1.3–10.9) were independent predictors of erosive esophagitis.

Conclusion

Our data revealed male gender and high BMI are independent risk factors for asymptomatic erosive esophagitis.

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Conflict of Interest Disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Financial Support

The authors have received no funding and confirm there were no financial arrangements that could influence this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family Medicine, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Fu-Wei Wang & Ming-Shium Tu

  2. Department of Community Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Hung-Yi Chuang

  3. Faculty of Public Health, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Hung-Yi Chuang

  4. Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, 386 Ta-Chung 1 st Road, Kaohsiung, 80424, Taiwan

    Hsien-Chung Yu, Lung-Chih Cheng & Ping-I Hsu

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  1. Fu-Wei Wang
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  2. Ming-Shium Tu
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  3. Hung-Yi Chuang
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  4. Hsien-Chung Yu
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  5. Lung-Chih Cheng
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  6. Ping-I Hsu
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Correspondence to Ping-I Hsu.

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Wang, FW., Tu, MS., Chuang, HY. et al. Erosive Esophagitis in Asymptomatic Subjects: Risk Factors. Dig Dis Sci 55, 1320–1324 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-009-0888-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-009-0888-z

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