Gastroptosis is Associated with Less Dyspepsia, Rather than a Cause of Dyspepsia, in Japanese Persons

Objective Gastroptosis is recognized by its characteristic appearance on barium studies. The present prospective study assessed the relationship between gastroptosis and dyspeptic symptoms. Methods Japanese subjects underwent health screening, and gastroptosis was diagnosed by barium studies. Consecutive subjects (500 women and 167 men) with gastroptosis were identified and the same number of age-matched subjects without gastroptosis were selected as controls. Dyspepsia was classified as reflux-like (heartburn and belching), dysmotility-like (bloating and fullness), or ulcer-like dyspepsia (epigastralgia) based on the Rome II criteria. Results Body mass index was significantly lower in women with gastroptosis than in controls [19.7±1.83 (SD) vs. 23.4±3.70, p<0.0001], and also in men (19.7±2.00 vs. 23.9±2.89, p<0.0001). The incidence of dyspepsia was significantly lower in women with gastroptosis than in controls (56/500 vs. 87/500, p<0.01) and also in men (10/167 vs. 25/167, p<0.05), especially in women with ulcer-like dyspepsia (15/500 vs. 32/500, p<0.05) and in men with reflux-like dyspepsia (2/167 vs. 12/167, p<0.05). By logistic regression analysis, gastroptosis was associated with a lower risk of dyspepsia (odds ratio: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.405-0.941, p=0.025) and ulcer-like dyspepsia (odds ratio: 0.36, 95% CI: 0.177-0.726, p=0.004) in women. Conclusion Dyspeptic symptoms were significantly less common in subjects with gastroptosis. Accordingly, gastroptosis may protect against dyspeptic symptoms, rather than causing functional dyspepsia.