Association of Heterotopic Gastric Mucosa in the Upper Esophagus (HGMUE) with Pharyngolaryngeal Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background Heterotopic gastric mucosa in the upper esophagus (HGMUE) is considered to be accompanied by pharyngolaryngeal symptoms, whereas the association strength between HGMUE and pharyngolaryngeal symptoms remains controversial. This study assessed the strength of the association between HGMUE and pharyngolaryngeal symptoms using a meta-analytic approach. Methods PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and CNKI databases were searched for relevant articles published between January 2010 and January 2024. The pharyngolaryngeal symptoms of chronic cough, dysphagia, hoarseness, and globus in patients with HGMUE were summarized. The pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using a random-effects model. The exploratory analyses were also performed, including sensitivity and subgroup analyses. Results A total of 17 observational studies (1 cohort study and 16 cross-sectional studies) with 626,369 patients (2414 HGMUE patients and 623,955 non-HGMUE patients) were included in the meta-analysis. HGMUE was significantly associated with an elevated incidence of chronic cough (OR: 3.36; 95% CI 1.25–9.01; P = 0.02), dysphagia (OR: 1.58; 95% CI 1.12–2.25; P = 0.01), hoarseness (OR: 4.13; 95% CI 1.47–11.56; P = 0.007), and globus (OR: 2.41; 95% CI: 1.43–4.04, P