Epidemic Trends of Upper Gastrointestinal Tract Abnormalities: Hospital-based study on Endoscopic Data Evaluation

Purpose: To understand the epidemiology of different upper gastrointestinal (UGI) tract related abnormalitiesthrough endoscopic data analysis. Materials and
Methods: A retrospective study of three years from January2009 to December 2011 was conducted with data from endoscopic surveillance of upper GI tract problems,collected from the Gastroenterology Unit, Osmania General Hospital, Hyderabad. MS excel and Medcalcsoftware (comparison of proportions) were used for data analysis.
Results: A total of 10,029 (6,468 in malesand 3,561 in females) endoscopies were performed during this three-year period. The male to female ratio was1.8:1. Overall, ~30% of endoscopies evaluated showed patients with acid peptic disorders, 13.6% with vascularrelatedabnormalities, 10.6% showed structural abnormalities, followed by 6.3% with malignancies. Burdenof malignancies was mostly observed in the older age group (60-69 years). Esophageal cancer cases decreased(p=0.0001) whereas stomach cancers increased over this period (p=0.0345). We also observed an increasedincidence of acid peptic disease (APD) (p=0.0036) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) (p=0.0002) casesduring this period.
Conclusions: Endoscopic diagnosis is useful for early detection of UGI anomalies and helpfulfor physicians to manage and treat varied kinds of UGI disorders. Analysis of data revealed changing trendsin the incidence of various pathologies of the UGI tract. Functional dyspepsia and GERD definitely reduce thequality of life of the individual. The role of our diverse dietary habits and lifestyle associated with these problemshave not yet been established, though there have been reports on the effect of coffee, spicy food, wheat-baseddiet, screening of UGI pathologies along with collection of complete personal and medical history details, canh elp in correlating the patients’ condition with various aspects of lifestyle and diet.