Is functional dyspepsia really that frequent?

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Clinical Diagnostics

Background:

• Functional dyspepsia (FD) prevalence is cited between 11-29.2% in the general population.
• Clinical experience suggests a potentially lower prevalence in specific healthcare settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a narrative review of current functional dyspepsia findings.
• To determine the prevalence of functional dyspepsia at a specific gastroenterology clinic.
• To compare observed prevalence with existing literature.

Main Methods:

• A narrative review of functional dyspepsia literature was performed.
• 302 patients undergoing gastroscopy were evaluated using Rome IV criteria.
• Normal gastroscopy findings were mandatory for FD diagnosis.
• 108 patients underwent repeat gastroscopy after 4-6 months.

Main Results:

• Only 10 patients (3.31%) were diagnosed with functional dyspepsia based on Rome IV criteria and normal gastroscopy.
• No cases of functional dyspepsia were diagnosed among the 108 patients who had repeat gastroscopies.

Conclusions:

• The prevalence of functional dyspepsia, when diagnosed with rigorous gastroscopic examination and Rome IV criteria, appears lower than previously reported.
• Findings suggest a potential need to re-evaluate diagnostic approaches for functional dyspepsia.