Clinical characteristics of chronic atrophic gastritis patients in Heilongjiang province

Objective To explore the clinical characteristics of chronic atrophic gastritis(CAG)patients in Heilongjiang province.Methods Medical records of 2 532 patients who underwent endoscopy and gastric mucosal biopsy in a hospital from June 2011 to June 2016 were randomly selected and those diagnosed with CAG were surveyed with a questionnaire and epidemiological characteristics of the CAG patients were analyzed.Results Among the patients,523 (20.66%) were diagnosed with CAG and of the CAG patients,25 did not complete the survey because of personal reasons.For the 498 CAG patients included in the analysis,302 (60.64%)were male and 196 (39.36%) were female,with a male to female ratio of 1.54:1.The ratio of the CAG patients aged 51-60 years was the highest and the ratio of those aged >60 years decreased gradually;of the CAG patients,only 7.83% was less than 30 years old.Significantly higher prevalences of Helicobacter pylori infection,smoking,alcohol drinking,irregular diet behavior,high intake of pickled foods,and low intakes of fruit and fresh vegetables were reported by the CAG patients (P<0.05 for all).Conclusion The prevalence rate of CAG is high in Heilongjiang province and the prevalence is related to lifestyle and dietary behaviors.The results suggest that corresponding preventive measures should be taken to reduce the occurrence of CAG.