Clinical characteristics of Japanese reflux esophagitis patients as determined by Los Angeles classification.
BACKGROUND
Recent studies have shown that the number of patients with reflux esophagitis is increasing in Japan, but the prevalence and risk factors associated with reflux esophagitis in Japanese patients are not well defined.


METHODS
By using all endoscopic records in the Katta General Hospital from April through to September 1999, we identified 392 patients. We examined the Los Angeles classification, peptic ulcer, gastric mucosal atrophy, hiatal hernia and other medical variable factors for their contribution to esophagitis in the patients.


RESULTS
Patients (13.8%) were diagnosed as having reflux esophagitis with a mucosal break. In a multivariate analysis, reflux esophagitis was associated with hiatal hernia (odds ratio (OR) 2.276, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.164-4.450), with patients over 65 years of age (OR 2.521, 95% CI 1.238-5.134) and the open type of gastric mucosal atrophy (OR 0.420, 95% CI 0.225-0.785). There was no significant difference between esophagitis and Helicobacter pylori infection and peptic ulcer.


CONCLUSIONS
We observed that age, hiatal hernia and a lower rate of gastric mucosal atrophy were associated with the proportion of mucosal breaks accompanying esophagitis.
Inamori
Masahiko
M
Third Department of Internal Medicine, Yokohama City University School of Medicine, Yokohama, Japan. inamorim@med.yokohama-cu.ac.jp
Togawa
Jun-Ichi
J
Nagase
Hajime
H
Abe
Yasunobu
Y
Umezawa
Tadashi
T
Nakajima
Atsushi
A
Saito
Toshifumi
T
Ueno
Norio
N
Tanaka
Katsuaki
K
Sekihara
Hisahiko
H
Kaifu
Hiroki
H
Tsuboi
Hideo
H
Kayama
Hideyuki
H
Tominaga
Shizuo
S
Nagura
Hiroshi
H
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001284:Atrophy; D004942:Esophagitis, Peptic / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology*; D004945:Esophagoscopy; D005260:Female; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000473:pathology*; D006551:Hernia, Hiatal / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors