RISK-FACTORS FOR BENIGN ESOPHAGEAL DISEASE IN A RANDOM-POPULATION SAMPLE

The association of sex, age, relative weight, smoking and drinking habits, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and economic and marital status, with benign oesophageal disease (BOD) was investigated by means of a point-prevalence study of BOD in a Danish population. A total of 346 individuals, representing subjects who gave positive responses to the discriminating questions pertaining to BOD and risk factors in a previously described questionnaire, as well as control subjects, were invited to participate in a clinical examination. Invasive investigation was accepted by 175 subjects, 114 of whom were diagnosed as having BOD. A statistically significant relationship between BOD and COPD was demonstrated by univariate analysis, and later confirmed by multivariate analysis (P < 0.01). Odds ratios suggested a non-significant association between BOD and smoking at least 20 g tobacco a day and consuming greater-than-or-equal-to 50 alcoholic drinks per week. Obesit, sex, age, marital and economical status were not risk factors for BOD.