Risk factors for gastric intestinal metaplasia identified
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Non-endoscopic factors like older age, male sex and smoking status are all independently associated with increased risk for gastric intestinal metaplasia, according to study results.
“Gastric intestinal metaplasia is thought to be an important precancerous change that precedes non-cardia gastric cancer,” Mimi C. Tan, MD, MPH, of the section of gastroenterology and hepatology at Baylor College of Medicine, and colleagues wrote. “Evaluating risk factors for gastric intestinal metaplasia may provide information on early events in the carcinogenic pathway for non-cardia gastric cancer and aid primary prevention efforts.”
Tan and colleagues collected data from a study of veterans who visited primary care and endoscopic clinics at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston. The patients completed questionnaires, as well as endoscopy with gastric mapping biopsies.
Investigators categorized patients with intestinal metaplasia on any biopsy and defined extensive gastric intestinal metaplasia as an antrum and corpus involvement. They identified 423 cases of intestinal metaplasia and 1,796 controls without.
The researchers found several independent risk factors for gastric intestinal metaplasia.
First, was age. Compared with patients younger than 60 years, older age was associated with intestinal metaplasia (age 60–69 years, adjusted OR = 1.5; 95% CI, 1.17–1.93; 70 years, aOR = 2.12; 95% CI, 1.48–3.04). Other factors also independently associated with gastric intestinal metaplasia included male sex (aOR = 2.76; 95% CI%, 1.5–5.1), current smoking status (aOR = 1.78; 95% CI, 1.29–2.48) and non-white race/ethnicity.
“Risk factors identified in our study can be used to develop and validate a predictive model for gastric intestinal metaplasia in the United States,” Tan and colleagues wrote. – by Alex Young
Disclosure: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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