Prevalence and risk factors of functional dyspepsia: a nationwide multicenter prospective study in Korea.

GOALS: To evaluate the prevalence of functional dyspepsia (FD) and its risk factors. BACKGROUND: FD is a common disorder, but its negative influences greatly affect the quality of life. The predictive factors of FD are still ambiguous. STUDY: A total of 3399 participants underwent screening gastroscopy at one of 7 nationwide health care centers in Korea and who completed a questionnaire. Atrophic gastritis was defined by gastroscopy. Serologic Helicobacter pylori immunoglobulin G antibody was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: Of the 3399 participants who did not have organic diseases, 694 (20.4%) had dyspeptic symptoms such as epigastric pain/soreness or postprandial discomfort. Among the 694 participants, atrophic gastritis and positive H. pylori serology were found in 282 (40.6%) and 422 (60.8%), respectively; these proportions were not different from the remaining asymptomatic subjects. Multivariate analysis showed that having relatives with gastric cancer [odds ratio (OR), 1.35; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01-1.81], education below college (OR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.06-1.64), and high-salt diet (OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.05-1.68) were associated with FD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: FD symptoms were frequently found in the health check-up subjects. Relatives of gastric cancer, education below college, and high-salt diet were risk factors of FD, suggesting that FD is a multifactorial disease.

Age-specific prevalence of serrated lesions and their subtypes by screening colonoscopy: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Serrated lesions of the colorectum as categorized by pathology include hyperplastic polyps, sessile serrated adenomas without dysplasia, and traditional serrated adenomas with dysplasia. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of various subtypes of serrated lesions by age. METHODS: In this study, 28,544 consecutive asymptomatic patients (aged 22-88 years) were evaluated during health check-ups involving colonoscopies performed by gastroenterologists at a single institution from 2005 to 2012. RESULTS: The adenoma detection rate during colonoscopies for patients aged ≥50 years was 31.8% (25.0-35.8%). The serrated lesion detection rate for patients aged ≥50 years was 15.3% (10.5-19.6%). Serrated lesions were detected in 15.1% of all patients with subtype prevalences of 14.7% for hyperplastic polyps, 0.5% for sessile serrated adenomas, and 0.1% for traditional serrated adenomas. The prevalence of conventional adenomas increased sharply with age (5.0% in patients aged 20-29 years, 10.9% in those aged 30-39 years, 21.8% in those aged 40-49 years, 29.5% in those aged 50-59 years, 36.9% in those aged 60-69 years, and 40.7% in those aged ≥70 years) (trend P = 0.027). In contrast, the prevalence of serrated lesions increased only slightly with age (10.0% in patients aged 20-29 years, 11.8% in those aged 30-39 years, 14.8% in those aged 40-49 years, 15.3% in those aged 50-59 years, 16.8% in those aged 60-69 years, and 16.4% in those aged ≥70 years) (trend P = 0.036). CONCLUSIONS: The screening colonoscopy detection rate of serrated lesions, including sessile serrated adenomas and traditional serrated adenomas, appears to be relatively high among young patients aged <50 years.

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Functional Dyspepsia in Health Check-up Population: A Nationwide Multicenter Prospective Study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders, and FD imposes social and economic burden worldwide. The aim of this study is to identify the prevalence and risk factors of FD in health check-up population in tertiary centers in Korea. METHODS: A nationwide multicenter prospective study was performed at 9 tertiary healthcare centers in Korea between September 2016 and June 2017. A total of 2525 subjects were investigated based on endoscopic findings and questionnaires with the Rome III criteria, and Helicobacter pylori serology (IgG). RESULTS: A total of 1714 subjects without organic disease were enrolled. The mean (± SD) age was 51.5 (± 12.7) years, and 917 patients (53.5%) were female. The proportion of H. pylori seropositivity was 51.0% (874/1714). The prevalence of FD was 10.3% (176/1714), and the subtypes of postprandial distress syndrome alone, epigastric pain syndrome alone, and postprandial distress syndrome-epigastric pain syndrome overlap were 4.8%, 3.0%, and 2.5%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that female gender (OR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.14-2.21) and education below college level (OR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.01-2.07) were related to FD. Multivariate analysis based on age 60 showed female gender as a significant (OR, 2.90; 95% CI, 1.06-7.94) factor in the group ≥ 60 years. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of FD was 10.3% in the health check-up population in Korea. Female sex and education below college level were risk factors for FD. Female sex is a risk factor for FD in old age, underscoring the need for close attention in this age group.

Seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori Infection in Korean Health Personnel.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aims of this study were to evaluate whether doctors and nurses in a single hospital were at an increased risk of acquiring Helicobacter pylori infection in 2011 and to identify risk factors for H. pylori seroprevalence. METHODS: Nurses (n=362), doctors (n=110), health personnel without patient contact (medical control, n=179), and nonhospital controls (n=359) responded to a questionnaire during a health check-up, which included questions on socioeconomic status, education level, working years, and occupation in 2011. The prevalence of H. pylori was measured by serology. RESULTS: The seroprevalence rate was 29.8% (nurses), 34.5% (doctors), 30.7% (medical control), and 52.9% (nonhospital control). Among younger subjects (<40 years of age), the nonhospital control had a higher seropositivity rate (48.1%) than nurses (29.2%), doctors (29.8%), and the medical control (24.8%), which was not observable in subjects ≥40 years of age. The risk factors for H. pylori seroprevalence were not different for health and nonhealth personnel. A multivariate analysis indicated that seropositivity significantly increased with age, the province of residence, and a gastroscopic finding of a peptic ulcer. CONCLUSIONS: The medical occupation was not associated with H. pylori infection. The seroprevalence of H. pylori in one hospital in 2011 was found to be 38.7%, most likely due to the improvement in socioeconomic status and hospital hygiene policy in Korea.