title: The frequency of histologically confirmed Barrett's esophagus varies by the combination of ethnicity and gender.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Barrett's esophagus (BE) is the primary risk factor for esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Limited data exists regarding the frequency of histologically confirmed BE by both gender and ethnicity in the United States. The study aim was to determine whether the frequency of histologically confirmed BE varies by ethnicity and gender.
  
  
  METHODS
  The University of Florida-Jacksonville endoscopy database was reviewed for all cases of salmon colored esophageal mucosa from September 2002 to August 2007. Histologic BE was diagnosed only if salmon colored esophageal mucosa was seen endoscopically and biopsy confirmed intestinal metaplasia with goblet cells. Data collected included: age at diagnosis, self-reported ethnicity [non-Hispanic white (nHw) or African American (AA)], gender, procedure indication, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) history, atypical manifestations, cigarette smoking, alcohol use, proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use, BE endoscopic length, absence/presence of hiatal hernia, stricture or ulcer, and absence/presence/grade of dysplasia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Salmon colored esophageal mucosa was identified in 391/7,308 patients, distributed ethnically as 306 nHw and 85 AA. Histologic BE was confirmed in 111/391 patients with ethnic distribution of: 95 nHw and 16 AA. Histologically confirmed BE frequency varied both by gender and ethnicity with nHw males having the highest (42.3%) and AA females the lowest (12.3%). Histologically confirmed BE frequency differed significantly between nHw males and nHw/AA females only (P<0.005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Histologically confirmed BE frequency varies by ethnicity and gender with nHw males having the highest frequency/risk and AA females the lowest. Investigation to improve understanding of the impact of race and gender in BE formation should be performed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Florida/Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Sian S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Chisholm
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, University of Florida/Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Joe E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Khoury
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, VAMC, Long Beach, CA and University of California, Irvine, California, USA.
authors.forename: M Mazen
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Jamal
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Florida/Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Palacio
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, University of Florida/Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Sunitha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pudhota
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, University of Florida/Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL, USA;; Division of Gastroenterology, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Vega
keywords: Barrett’s esophagus (BE); ethnicity; frequency; gender; histology