A cross-sectional study on the risk factors for erosive esophagitis in young adults

To investigate the impact of metabolic and lifestyle factors on erosive esophagitis in young adults.

A total of 5,069 people under the age of 40 years old were enrolled in a medical survey at our institute. People with a previous history of upper gastrointestinal tract surgery were excluded, as were individuals taking medication for reflux symptoms, peptic ulcers, or malignancies. Independent and significant predictors affecting the presence of erosive esophagitis were determined by multivariate analysis.

A total of 4,990 participants (male/female; 3,871/1,119, age; 33.9±3.9 years) were eligible. A total of 728 participants (14.6%) had erosive esophagitis. Male gender and increasing age were independent predictors for increased prevalence of erosive esophagitis (odds ratio=2.242 and 1.045. 95% confidence interval=1.613-3.117 and 1.019-1.072; p<0.001 and 0.001, respectively). Moderate-to-heavy alcohol consumption, light-to-moderate-to-heavy smoking, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and hiatal hernia each significantly and independently increased the risk for erosive esophagitis (odds ratio=1.499, 1.398, 1.353, 1.570, 1.884, 1.297, 1.562, and 3.213. 95% confidence interval=1.181-1.903, 1.040-1.880, 1.094-1.675, 1.250-1.971, 1.307-2.716, 1.074-1.566, 1.063-2.295, and 2.712-3.807; p=0.001, 0.027, 0.005, <0.001, 0.001, <0.001, 0.007, 0.023, and <0.001 respectively). Helicobacter pylori infection decreased the risk for erosive esophagitis (odds ratio=0.575, 95% confidence interval =0.436-0.759 p<0.001). Neither body mass index nor waist girth conferred increased risk of erosive esophagitis after adjusting for potential confounding factors.

Risk of erosive esophagitis in Japanese young adults was not increased by obesity, but it was increased by hiatal hernia and metabolic and lifestyle profiles including hypertension, hyperglycemia, alcohol consumption and smoking.