Background/Aims: Reflux esophagitis is pertained to gastroesophageal reflux disease. On recent studies, western GERD patients shows reflux esophagitis over than 50% on gastroscopy. We expect lower incidence of reflux esophagitis in Korea, but few epidemiological data are available for korean patients. We intended to investigate the alteration of incidence of reflux esophagitis by gastroscopy result for patients who visited general health screening center and department of gastroenterology with chief complaint of gastrointestinal symptoms.
Methods: The 13, 439 people of general health screening center visitors, 28,037 patients who visited department of gastroenterology due to gastrointestinal symptoms from March, 1996 to August, 1999 were underwent gastroscopy. And 24,952 patients who showed gastrointestinal symptoms and general health screening center visitors from March, 1993 to Feburary, 1996 were also underwent gastroscopy. The grading of esophagitis was based on the Savary-Miller classification and prevalence alteration of reflux esophagitis was investigated by retrospective manner.
Results: 1) Overall prevalence of general health screening people group and patients with gastrointestinal symptoms from March, 1993 to Feburary, 1996 was 2.08%. 2) Overall prevalence of general health sceening group from March, 1996 to August, 1999 was 2.37%. During the same period, Overall prevalence of patients with gastrointestinal symptoms was 3.69%. Overall prevalence was 2.96% and it was higher than that of 3 years ago (2.02%).
Conclusions: On recent gastrofiberscopy studies, prevalence of reflux esophagitis is increasting. So further investigation is needed on the prevalence of reflux esophagitis over the whole country by prospective manner.
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