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Epidemiology

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

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The exact prevalence of the condition is unknown (since endoscopy is required to define this condition) (1).

  • prevalence may vary depending on the definition of diagnosis and population studies
    • a population based study of 1000 Swedish people only 1.6% had Barrett’s oesophagus
    • in a study of older people undergoing colonoscopy in the United States, 16% had Barrett’s oesophagus regardless of the presence or absence of reflux symptoms

Barrett's oesophagus increases cancer risk 25-130 fold (2) - loss of the tumour-suppressor gene 'p53' may be important in the development of oesophageal adenocarcinoma.

  • annual risk of progression to cancer in Barret’s oesophagus, based on degree of dysplasia is as follows
    • patients with nondysplastic changes – around 0.2–0.5% per year
    • patients with low-grade dysplasia (LGD) – around 0.7% per year
    • patients with high-grade dysplasia (HGD) – around 7% per year
  • majority (90%) of patients with Barret’s oesophagus die of causes other than oesophageal adneocarcinoma (2)

Barrett's oesophagus seems to be more common in men than women

  • typically affects men between the ages of 50 and 70 years.

Reference:


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