The Relationship Between Smoking and Gastric Histopathology in Patients Presented to the Emergency Department with Dyspeptic Complaints and Underwent Endoscopic Examination

INTRODUCTION: Smoking is responsible for the etiology of most malignancies. It also causes pathologies involving the gastrointestinal system (GIS) such as gastroesophageal reflux (GER), peptic ulcer (PU), and malignancy. In our study, we aimed to examine the relationship of histopathological findings and the presence of helicobacter pylori (HP) with smoking in patients, who presented to the emergency department with dyspeptic complaints.
METHODS: A total of 118 patients, who underwent upper GIS endoscopy were included in the study. The patients were grouped as non-smokers, smokers, and ex-smokers. Data on demographic characteristics, smoking habits, alcohol use, endoscopic and histopathological findings were documented. In addition to smoking, the relationship between the number of cigarettes smoked and the time of cessation with HP and histopathological findings were examined
RESULTS: A total of 118 patients, 60 (50.8%) female and 58 (49.2%) male, were included in the study. There were 76 non-smokers, 31 smokers, 11 ex-smokers. The presence of HP and intestinal metaplasia were significantly higher in the group of smokers. The presence of HP and intestinal metaplasia were higher in smokers of 10 years or more compared to the non-smokers. Those who had quit smoking for less than 10 years had a higher rate of the presence of HP and metaplasia compared to the non-smokers.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The fact that various histopathological data can be improved by preventing smoking, which is a serious public health problem, highlights the importance of raising awareness on this issue.