The Prevalence of Barrett's Esophagus Among a Saudi Arabian Population

While gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is common in Middle Eastern countries, little data exists on the epidemiology of Barrett's esophagus (BE).

We aimed to determine the prevalence of BE among patients undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) in a cohort of Saudi patients.

We retrospectively reviewed the endoscopy database at an academic tertiary care center. Consecutive adult patients who underwent an EGD for any indication between May 2014 and December 2018 were included. The prevalence of both endoscopically and histologically reported BE was determined. Multivariate regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with BE.

A total of 2805 patients were included. The mean age was 48 years (± 18.6) and 38.7% were male patients. BE was reported endoscopically in 18 (0.64%) and confirmed histologically in 9 patients (0.32%). Among patients with endoscopically reported BE, the mean age was 50.3 (± 16.1) years and 13 (72.2%) were male patients. Of patients with BE, short-segment BE was reported in 14 (77.8%) patients. Among the 9 patients with histologically confirmed BE; only one patient had dysplastic BE. On univariate analysis, BE was associated with male gender (p < 0.01), but not with age > 50, hiatal hernia, obesity or EGD performed for GERD related indications. On multivariate regression analysis, male gender was the only factor associated with BE (aOR 3.77, 95% CI 1.39-11.97, p = 0.01).

BE was endoscopically reported in 0.64% and histologically confirmed in 0.32% of this cohort of Saudi patients. Male gender was the only factor associated with BE.