Prevalence and associated factors of chronic constipation among Japanese university students.

Background: Chronic constipation (CC) is one of the most frequently reported gastrointestinal disorders in the general population and a prominent problem among university students. The study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and the associated factors of CC among Japanese university students. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among university students at Hiroshima University, Japan. Students answered the web questionnaire when making a web reservation for the health checkup (April 1 to May 31, 2023). The web questionnaire consisted of four sections, including baseline characteristics, lifestyle factors, family history of CC, and three scales to assess depression and eating disorders: the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Eating Attitudes Test (EAT)-26 and Bulimic Investigatory Test (BITE). CC was diagnosed using Rome IV criteria. The multivariate logistic regression model was used to determine CC-related factors. Results: Out of 10,500 individuals who participated in the annual health checkup, 7,496 participants answered the web questionnaire, of whom 5,386 answered all the survey questions. The mean age of the students was 21.1 ± 4.1 years. The male-to-female ratio was 1:1.17. The prevalence of CC was 13.7%. Factors significantly associated with CC in the multivariate model were first-degree family members with CC [Odd ratio (OR): 2.77, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.31-3.31], severe depression according to BDI scale (OR: 2.59, 95% CI: 1.96-3.43), female sex (OR: 2.00, 95% CI: 1.69-2.36), and short sleep duration of 6 hours or less per day (OR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.09-1.50). Lack of physical exercise tended to be associated with CC (OR: 1.19, 95% CI: 1.00-1.40). Conclusions: CC is prevalent among Japanese university students. Significant risk factors for CC included the first-degree family history of CC, severe depression, female sex, and short sleep duration. Lack of physical exercise tended to be associated with CC. This may contribute to implementing suitable education health programs, health care professionals, and public health policies to identify individuals at risk for CC to prevent and treat CC effectively.

Endoscopic Kyoto and Kimura-Takemoto Classifications Are Comparable in Predicting High-Risk Gastric Precancerous Lesions.

INTRODUCTION: Severe and extensive gastric atrophy, extensive or incomplete gastric intestinal metaplasia, and gastric dysplasia are considered high-risk gastric precancerous lesions (HGPLs). Endoscopic findings based on the endoscopic Kyoto classification (EKC) and the Kimura-Takemoto classification (KTC) have been reported to be significantly associated with HGPLs. This study aimed to compare these two classifications in predicting active Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and HGPLs. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted on naïve dyspeptic patients who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy at a tertiary hospital. Endoscopic findings were scored according to the EKC and KTC. Mapping biopsies were taken, and H. pylori infection was determined using a locally validated rapid urease test and histology. The performance of EKC was compared with that of KTC using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) in predicting active H. pylori infection and HGPLs. RESULTS: There were 292 patients with a median age of 46 and a male-to-female ratio of 1:1. The rates of active H. pylori infection and HGPLs were 61.3% and 14.0%, respectively. The EKC was better than the KTC in predicting active H. pylori infection (AUC: 0.771 vs. 0.658, respectively; p < 0.001). However, these two classifications had comparable performance in predicting HGPLs (AUC: 0.792 vs. 0.791, respectively; p = 0.956). CONCLUSION: Compared to EKC, KTC is inferior in predicting active H. pylori infection but has comparable performance in predicting HGPLs.

Overlap of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease and Functional Dyspepsia and Yield of Esophagogastroduodenoscopy in Patients Clinically Fulfilling the Rome IV Criteria for Functional Dyspepsia.

Aim: To assess (1) the overlap rate of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and functional dyspepsia (FD) and (2) the yield of esophagogastroduodenoscopy in patients clinically presenting with FD. Materials and Methods: Outpatients aged ≥18 years with typical reflux symptoms ≥2 times a week or clinically fulfilling the Rome IV criteria for FD were recruited and underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy. GERD was classified into non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) and erosive reflux disease (ERD), and FD was classified into epigastric pain syndrome and postprandial distress syndrome. The endoscopic findings that could explain patients' symptoms were considered clinically significant endoscopic findings. After esophagogastroduodenoscopy, patients were categorized into three groups: GERD-only, FD-only, and GERD-FD overlap. Results: There were 439 patients with a mean age of 42.3 ± 11.6 years. Ninety-one (20.7%) patients had clinically significant endoscopic findings: 73 (16.6%) reflux esophagitis, 6 (1.4%) Barrett's esophagus and 14 (3.2%) gastroduodenal ulcers. After excluding gastroduodenal ulcers, the numbers of patients with GERD-only, FD-only, and GERD-FD overlap were 69 (16.2%), 138 (32.5%), and 218 (51.3%), respectively. Postprandial distress syndrome was more prevalent in GERD-FD overlap than in FD-only (72.9 vs. 44.2%, p < 0.001). The rates of gastroduodenal ulcers in patients clinically fulfilling the criteria for FD with and without reflux symptoms were 0.6 and 4.7%, respectively (p = 0.027). Conclusion: The GERD-FD overlap was more common than each disorder alone, of which postprandial distress syndrome was significantly prominent. Organic dyspepsia was uncommon in patients clinically fulfilling the Rome IV criteria for FD.

Performance of chromoendoscopy and narrow-band imaging in the diagnosis of gastric intestinal metaplasia.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Chromoendoscopy and narrow-band imaging (NBI) have been reported to aid in the diagnosis of gastric intestinal metaplasia (GIM). This study aimed to assess the diagnostic validity of chromoendoscopy combined with NBI in the diagnosis of GIM in Vietnamese. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out on patients with dyspeptic symptoms who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) at the University Medical Center at Ho Chi Minh City. We compared the detection rates of GIM in the group of patients examined with white-light endoscopy (WLE) alone and those examined with WLE in combination with chromoendoscopy and NBI. RESULTS: A total of 374 patients have been recruited. The additional GIM detection rate after chromoendoscopy combined with NBI was 8.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.3 - 12.8), p < .005. The rate of GIM within the group of patients biopsied under the guidance of chromoendoscopy combined with NBI was statistically significantly higher than in the group with WLE alone with a distinct rate of 14.4% (95% CI: 6.3 - 2.6), p = .001. CONCLUSIONS: Chromoendoscopy combined with NBI helped to detect the GIM lesions missed by WLE and was a more reliable endoscopic method for the diagnosis of GIM.