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Racial disparity in pediatric EoE not as large as previously reported

White patients made up a slightly larger proportion of pediatric patients with eosinophilic esophagitis compared with blacks, but not as large as previously reported, according to recent study results.

Jay A. Lieberman, MD, assistant professor, Department of Pediatrics, the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, and colleagues conducted a retrospective chart review of all patients aged 0 to 18 years diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) between June 2012 and June 2013 at LeBonheur Children’s Hospital, Memphis, Tenn. Age, sex, race and ethnicity, presenting symptom, associated symptoms, food allergies, other atopic diseases, peripheral eosinophilia and endoscopic and histopathologic findings were determined through chart review.

Jay A. Lieberman

Thirty-eight patients with EoE (median age, 12 years; 74.3% males) were identified, including 58% white, 34% black and 8% other race. The hospital serves approximately 1.3 million people, including 49.8% white and 46.3% black. White patients with EoE made up a nonsignificant, slightly larger proportion than expected (P=.05).

In a comparison of black vs. white patients, blacks were younger at diagnosis (5 years vs. 12 years; P<.005), had a slightly higher peak eosinophil count at diagnosis (50 vs. 40.5; P=.04) and were less likely to have food impaction (0% vs. 32%; P=.03).

“Prior large retrospective studies of EoE in pediatric populations in the United States have clearly shown the cohorts to be overwhelmingly white, with percentages ranging from 84% to 94%,” the researchers said, writing that their study was limited by a small sample size.

“These data suggest that EoE may in fact have a predominance in white individuals, but that this predominance may not be quite as prominent as previously reported,” the researchers concluded. “In addition, African-American individuals do appear to be diagnosed at a younger age as reported previously.”

Disclosure: Jay A. Lieberman, MD, reported salary support from the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Young Investigator Award.