Influence of age and sex on endoscopic findings of gastrooesophageal reflux disease: an endoscopy database study.

BACKGROUND Barrett's oesophagus (BO) and oesophageal adenocarcinoma are more common with increasing age and among men. Symptoms of gastrooesophageal reflux disease are equally common in both sexes and at all ages. We hypothesized that reduced postmenopausal female sex hormone levels may remove protection from acid reflux injury, leading to increased oesophagitis and its complications in older women. AIM To examine the incidence of gastrooesophageal reflux disease and its complications in men and women in a large endoscopy database. METHODS Anonymized data were extracted from endoscopy databases covering an 11-year period. Patients with an endoscopic diagnosis of reflux oesophagitis (RO), BO, hiatus hernia and benign oesophageal stricture and total number and indications for endoscopies were identified. RESULTS Out of 154 406 upper gastrointestinal endoscopies, 24 240 (15.7%) patients had RO {13 148 male, 11 092 female, mean age 59 [standard deviation (SD) 17] years}. The incidence of RO increased with age {odds ratio 1.029 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.026-1.032], P