Clinical characteristics and endoscopic findings in autoimmune gastritis - a retrospective study

Abstract

Objectives: Autoimmune gastritis (AG) is an infrequent disease worldwide and may predispose to gastric carcinoid tumors or adenocarcinomas. The aims of this study were to summarize the clinical characteristics of AG patients, including demographic patterns, hematologic features, gastroscopic and histopathologic findings.
Patients and methods: A total of 58 patients with AG from January 2019 to December 2022 were reviewed in a medical center. Results: The mean age of the subjects at diagnosis was 57.7 ± 12.1 years and 73.7% of patients were female. Pernicious anemia (54.4%), iron deficiency anemia (21.1%), and autoimmune disorders (96.5%) were present. However, 78.9% of patients complained of gastrointestinal symptoms, 69% of them had exclusively upper gastrointestinal symptoms, 17% only lower, and 14% concomitant upper and lower gastrointestinal symptoms.  Of the 58 AG patients, related gastric lesions were assessed in all 58 subjects, and abnormal lesions were found in 22 patients. Five patients (8.8%) had type 1 neuroendocrine tumours (NET) and one (1.8%) had adenocarcinoma. Hyperplastic polyps were detected in 16 (28.1%) patients.
Conclusions: AG displayed a female predominance, accompanied by additional autoimmune disorders. Clinicians should pay AG more consideration through multidisciplinary team access.