The Prevalence of Biopsy-Proven Eosinophilic Esophagitis in Hispanics Undergoing Endoscopy Is Infrequent Compared to Caucasians: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction The prevalence of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a chronic, immune-mediated, clinicopathologic, inflammatory disorder, has been well described in the pediatric and adult Caucasian population but not as well studied in the Hispanic population. The major aims of this study are to determine the prevalence and gene expression profile of EoE in these populations. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study of patients from two institutions predominantly serving a Hispanic population. Patients included at Los Angeles County Hospital (LACH) had an esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and esophageal biopsies performed for evaluation of dysphagia and/or food impaction, while patients included from the University Hospital Medical Center of El Paso (UHMCEP) had an EGD and esophageal biopsies performed for any appropriate clinical indication. Gene expression analysis which has been shown to accurately diagnose EOE in Caucasians was performed for 9 patients at UHMCEP to determine its accuracy in Hispanics. Results At LACH, 234 patients were included in the study of whom 155 (66.3%) were Hispanic and 22 (9.4%) were Caucasian. 3.2% of the Hispanic patients and 9.1% of the Caucasian patients were diagnosed with EOE with threefold difference. At UHMCEP 1700 patients were included of whom 1350 (79.4%) were Hispanic and 179 (10.5%) were Caucasian. 0.96% of the Hispanic patients and 7.26% of the Caucasian patients were diagnosed with EOE with a sevenfold difference. Gene expression accurately diagnosed EOE in a small number of both Hispanics and Caucasians who underwent analysis. Conclusions Hispanic patients at LAC and UMHCEP had a significantly lower prevalence of EOE as compared to Caucasians at these two institutions and a lower prevalence as compared to Caucasians with EOE previously reported in the literature. Gene expression analysis, which has previously been shown to accurately diagnose EOE in Caucasian patients, accurately diagnosed EOE in a small sample of this Hispanic population. Based on this similar gene expression, other factors such as environmental, ethnic, and cultural causes should be investigated to explain the markedly lower prevalence of EOE in Hispanics.