Association between gastrointestinal lesions in individuals undergoing gastroscopy and colonoscopy simultaneously: a retrospective, observational study

Due to the common developmental origination and influences by similar unhealthy lifestyle, upper and lower gastrointestinal (GI) diseases may be closely associated. However, the evidence remains elusive. This study aims to determine the prevalence of GI endoscopic lesions and the correlations between endoscopic lesions in individuals undergoing gastroscopy and colonoscopy simultaneously. A retrospective study was conducted on 18,556 individuals who underwent simultaneous gastroscopy and colonoscopy at the Endoscopy Center of Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases from January 2020 to March 2023. Data on sex, age, pathological and endoscopic results were collected. The Pearson chi-square test was used to analyze the occurrence of various GI lesions among age groups and correlations between GI lesions, and logistic regression was used to determine risk factors for common upper and lower GI lesions. The mean age was 50.35 ± 12.31 years, and 55.5% of participants were male. At least one endoscopic abnormality was observed in 16,530 cases (89.1%), with 8253 cases (44.5%) showing abnormalities in both the upper and lower GI tract. The most common upper GI endoscopic lesions were chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG, 47.7%), reflux esophagitis (RE, 24.7%), and other gastritis (18.1%). Colorectal polyps (CPs) were the most prevalent lower GI endoscopic condition, observed in 37.5% of cases. The detection of CAG, RE, CPs increased with age, and was higher in man. Moreover, the presence of CAG was associated with the occurrence of CPs (kappa value = 0.135, p < 0.001), which was independent of age and gender. Most GI diseases are more prevalent in men and the elderly. Additionally, CAG is independently correlated with the occurrence of endoscopic CPs.