Diagnostic yield of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in relation to age and gender: a study of 10112 Saudi patients.

Background/Aims : The availability of fiberoptic endoscopy has made it relatively easy to evaluate symptoms of upper gastrointestinal disorders with a significant degree of accuracy. Materials and Methods : To determine the pattern of upper gastrointestinal lesions in the Saudi population with particular reference to the influence of age and gender, 10,112 patients were studied. Results : No abnormal findings were detected in 26.9%. The frequency of ulcer lesions was 13.7% while non-ulcer, mucosal inflammation was diagnosed with a frequency of 33. 7%. In the young (less than 20 years of age), the most common lesion was duodenal ulcer or duodenitis, whereas in the elderly (above 60 years of age), esophagitis, hiatus hernia and esophageal varices were the most frequently diagnosed. The highest mean ages were observed in the group of patients with gastric and esophageal cancers (mean ages of 58.8 and 65.1 years, respectively). There was no gender-related differences with regard to the mean age of patients in all the diagnostic categories. Conclusions : This study provides baseline data on the age distribution of major upper gastrointestinal diseases among the Saudi population. The peculiarities of upper gastrointestinal endoscopic findings in advanced age are clarified. The influence of demographic changes on the pattern of these diseases in Saudi Arabia can be evaluated against our findings in the future.