Barrett’s Esophagus Appears To Be Spiking in Younger Patients

An analysis of a large health care database has found that the incidence of Barrett’s esophagus (BE) among relatively young people has surged in recent years. The study showed that while the absolute incidence remains low among people younger than age 55 years, the share of cases in that group climbed sharply over the five-year period. Meanwhile, cases of BE among people over age 55 fell, suggesting a demographic shift in the disease.

IHPI member Joel Rubenstein, M.D., M.Sc., calls the data intriguing, but still cautions about the existence of an inherent selection bias. Rubenstein also offers several additional explanations to the results of the study.