Clinical and endoscopic characteristics of eosinophilic esophagitis in Japan: a case-control study

BACKGROUND: Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an allergy-associated clinicopathologic condition gaining an increasing amount of recognition in various areas of the world. While the clinical definition and characteristics may differ depending on country and region, sufficient studies have not yet been performed in Japan. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of EoE among the Japanese population and the clinical features associated with the disease. METHODS: Endoscopic data from January 2012 to October 2018 was gathered from 9 Japanese clinical institutes. EoE, defined as esophageal mucosal eosinophilia of at least 15 eosinophils per high-power field, was determined based on esophageal biopsies. Clinical and endoscopic patterns in the cases with EoE were investigated and compared with 186 age- and sex-matched controls. RESULTS: From 130,013 upper endoscopic examinations, 66 cases of EoE were identified (0.051%; mean age, 45.2 years [range, 7–79 years]; 45 males). Twenty-five patients (37.9%) with EoE were diagnosed by endoscopy during a medical check-up. Patients with EoE had more symptoms (69.7% vs. 10.8%, p < 0.01) such as dysphagia and food impaction, and more allergies (65.2% vs. 23.7%, p < 0.01) compared with the controls. The prevalence of atrophic gastritis was lower in EoE patients than in the controls (20.0% vs. 33.3%, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of EoE in the Japanese population was 0.051% which was comparable with previous reports in Japan. History of allergies and the absence of atrophic gastritis were associated with EoE.