Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2017 Jan;96(1):e5784.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000005784.

Upper gastrointestinal symptoms in autoimmune gastritis: A cross-sectional study

Marilia Carabotti  1 , Edith Lahner, Gianluca Esposito, Maria Carlotta Sacchi, Carola Severi, Bruno Annibale
Affiliations
Observational Study

Upper gastrointestinal symptoms in autoimmune gastritis: A cross-sectional study

Marilia Carabotti et al. Medicine (Baltimore). 2017 Jan.

Abstract

Autoimmune gastritis is often suspected for its hematologic findings, and rarely the diagnosis is made for the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms. Aims of this cross-sectional study were to assess in a large cohort of patients affected by autoimmune gastritis the occurrence and the pattern of gastrointestinal symptoms and to evaluate whether symptomatic patients are characterized by specific clinical features.Gastrointestinal symptoms of 379 consecutive autoimmune gastritis patients were systematically assessed and classified following Rome III Criteria. Association between symptoms and anemia pattern, positivity to gastric autoantibodies, Helicobacter pylori infection, and concomitant autoimmune disease were evaluated.In total, 70.2% of patients were female, median age 55 years (range 17-83). Pernicious anemia (53.6%), iron deficiency anemia (34.8%), gastric autoantibodies (68.8%), and autoimmune disorders (41.7%) were present. However, 56.7% of patients complained of gastrointestinal symptoms, 69.8% of them had exclusively upper symptoms, 15.8% only lower and 14.4% concomitant upper and lower symptoms. Dyspepsia, subtype postprandial distress syndrome was the most represented, being present in 60.2% of symptomatic patients. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that age <55 years (OR 1.6 [CI:1-2.5]), absence of smoking habit (OR 2.2 [CI:1.2-4]), and absence of anemia (OR 3.1 [CI:1.5-6.4]) were independent factors associated to dyspepsia.Autoimmune gastritis is associated in almost 60% of cases with gastrointestinal symptoms, in particular dyspepsia. Dyspepsia is strictly related to younger age, no smoking, and absence of anemia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Severity degree of gastric atrophy in symptomatic and asymptomatic autoimmune gastritis patients. pts = patients.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Symptomatic pattern of autoimmune gastritis patients. Black = only lower gastrointestinal symptoms, Gray = combined of upper and lower gastrointestinal symptoms, White = only upper gastrointestinal symptoms.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Toh BH. Diagnosis and classification of autoimmune gastritis. Autoimmun Rev 2014;13:459–62. - PubMed
    1. Jacobson DL, Gange SJ, Rose NR, et al. Epidemiology and estimated population burden of selected autoimmune diseases in the United States. Clin Immunol Immunopathol 1997;84:223–43. - PubMed
    1. Carmel R. Prevalence of undiagnosed pernicious anemia in the elderly. Arch Intern Med 1996;156:1097–100. - PubMed
    1. De Block CE, De Leeuw IH, Van Gaal LF. Autoimmune gastritis in type 1 diabetes: a clinically oriented review. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2008;93:363–71. - PubMed
    1. Lahner E, Centanni M, Agnello G, et al. Occurrence and risk factors for autoimmune thyroid disease in patients with atrophic body gastritis. Am J Med 2008;121:136–41. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms