Etiologies of Dyspepsia among a Chinese Population: One Hospital-Based Study

Abstract

Background and Methods: Dyspepsia refers to a collection of upper gastrointestinal symptoms, and the causes may be either organic or functional. The aim of this study was to investigate the etiologies of dyspepsia among a Chinese population in Taiwan. Patients who underwent upper endoscopy for symptoms of dyspepsia were retrospectively analyzed between January and December 2008. Exclusion criteria included cirrhosis with varices, heart-burn sensation as the main symptom, gastrointestinal bleeding, hepatobiliary abnormalities, prior gastric surgery, and use of anti-acid medication for more than 2 months. Patients were classified according to the findings of upper endoscopy. Results: Data from the medical records of 2062 patients were collected and retrospectively analyzed. Normal endoscopic findings, gastritis, gastric ulcers, duodenal ulcers, reflux esophagitis and esophageal or gastric malignancy accounted for 1174 (56.9%), 215 (10.4%), 254 (12.3%), 194 (9.4%), 182 (8.8%) and 43 (2.1%) cases, respectively. The overall ratio of H. pylori infection was 28.4%. The ratio was the highest in duodenal ulcers and the lowest in reflux esophagitis. A significantly higher ratio of patients with gastric ulcers had a history of aspirin or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) usage. Conclusion: Patients with organic dyspepsia, compared to those with functional dyspepsia, were older, male, and had a higher H. pylori infection ratio, a positive relationship with aspirin or NSAIDs usage, and more risk factors. These findings demonstrate that upper endoscopy has a high diagnostic yield in patients in this group.