Barrett's esophagus epidemiology and demographics

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Amresh Kumar MD [2]

Barrett’s esophagus can be seen in younger patients, but is most commonly diagnosed in patients ~ 55 years old.

• The incidence of Barrett’s esophagus is approximately 400 per 100,000 individuals worldwide.^[1]

• The prevalence of barrett’s esophagus is approximately 2000 per 100,000 individuals worldwide.^[2]

• The incidence of Barrett’s esophagus increases with age; the median age at diagnosis is 55 years.^[3]
• Barrett’s esophagus hardly affects individuals younger than 5 years of age.^[4]
• Barrett’s esophagus can be seen in younger patients, but is most commonly diagnosed in patients ~ 55 years old.^[3][4]
• It is an acquired condition, seen in children but rarely in younger than age of five.^[4]

• Barrett’s esophagus usually affects individuals of the Caucasians race. Blacks and Asians individuals are less likely to develop Barrett’s esophagus.^[5][6]
• The prevalence in hispanic population is unclear, some studies compare it to caucasian prevalence and other studies show a lower prevalence.^[6][5]

• Males are more commonly affected by Barrett’s esophagus than females.^[7][8] The male to female ratio is approximately 1.96 to 1.^[9]

• Barrett’s esophagus is a common disease that tends to affect equally to people in both Asian countries as well as Western countries.^[10]

• In one of the study in Sweden, it is published that the estimated rate of Barrett’s esophagus in the general population was around 1.6 percent.^[11]
• Based on these data, the estimated prevalence rate of Barrett’s esophagus in the United States population, it would be around 3.3 million individuals.^[12]

• Barrett’s esophagus is very common in developing countries and it shares the same kind of risk factors and potential towards neoplastic process as compared to those seen in developed countries.^[10]

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