Prevalence and association of functional dyspepsia in the elderly patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

In the elderly, diagnosing and treating functional dyspepsia may be more challenging. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the prevalence and association of functional dyspepsia in adult individuals and elderly populations (especially ≥64 years) in the year 2024-2025 literature available. The study included a search of electronic articles, electronic books, and electronic book chapters using the keywords "dyspepsia" and "age" in PubMed, PubMed Central, and Google. A total of 27.5 ± 21.39%, 24.8 ± 21.86%, 23.83 ± 23.54%, 23.5 ± 25.06%, and 21.9 ± 24.63% are reported prevalence of dyspepsia in all study populations (1-100 years; 23 articles), for patients ≥50 years (20 articles), for patients >55 years (15 articles), for patients ≥64 years (15 articles), and for patients >70 years (12 articles), respectively. Mostly gastric symptoms, specific treatments, older age, and female gender were associated with functional dyspepsia. One in four individuals in every age group has functional dyspepsia among the included patients (25% of patients). The study reported a 23.5 ± 25.06% prevalence of functional dyspepsia for ≥64 years patients regardless of the definition used. Helicobacter pylori infection, specific treatments, female gender, poorer sleep quality, and smoking are independent factors for the prevalence of functional dyspepsia in ≥64 years patients.