胃酸缺乏的确切患病率和发病率不详。胃体萎缩(界定为胃蛋白酶原 I<25 ng/mL 或胃蛋白酶原 I/II 比<3.0)发生于 10% 至 15% 的老年人中。[21]Weck MN, Stegmaier C, Rothenbacher D, et al. Epidemiology of chronic atrophic gastritis: population-based study among 9444 older adults from Germany. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2007;26:879-887.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17767472?tool=bestpractice.com[22]Bhutto A, Morley JE. The clinical significance of gastrointestinal changes with aging. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2008;11:651-660.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18685464?tool=bestpractice.com[23]Webb PM, Hengels KJ, Moller H, et al. The epidemiology of lower serum pepsinogen A levels and an international association with gastric cancer rates. EUROGAST Study Group. Gastroenterology. 1994;107:1335-1344.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7926498?tool=bestpractice.com[24]Busuttil RA, Boussioutas A. Intestinal metaplasia: a premalignant lesion involved in gastric carcinogenesis. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2009;24:193-201.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19215332?tool=bestpractice.com[25]Carmel R. Prevalence of undiagnosed pernicious anemia in the elderly. Arch Intern Med. 1996;156:1097-1100.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8638997?tool=bestpractice.com胃蛋白酶原为天冬氨酸蛋白酶,并且可以通过电泳区分为两组:胃蛋白酶原 I 和胃蛋白酶原 II。胃蛋白酶原 I 由胃底和胃体的主细胞产生,而胃蛋白酶原 II 则由胃体主细胞以及整个胃部(胃底、胃体和胃窦)的颈黏液细胞产生。胃体萎缩与肠上皮化生相关,且导致胃腺癌风险增加 2 至 3 倍。[25]Carmel R. Prevalence of undiagnosed pernicious anemia in the elderly. Arch Intern Med. 1996;156:1097-1100.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8638997?tool=bestpractice.com恶性贫血,钴胺素缺乏的常见病因,由针对内因子和/或壁细胞的自身抗体引起,累及大于2% 的60 岁以上人群。[25]Carmel R. Prevalence of undiagnosed pernicious anemia in the elderly. Arch Intern Med. 1996;156:1097-1100.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8638997?tool=bestpractice.com在一项包括 9684 名 50 至 74 岁德国人的群体研究中,20% 的受试者存在壁细胞抗体(通过 ELISA 方法检测)。[26]Zhang Y, Weck MN, Schöttker B, et al. Gastric parietal cell antibodies, Helicobacter pylori infection, and chronic atrophic gastritis: evidence from a large population-based study in Germany. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2013;22:821-826.http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/22/5/821.longhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23456556?tool=bestpractice.com壁细胞抗体是直接针对氢-钾-ATP酶 (H+/K+ ATPase)的抗体,即针对壁细胞上的质子泵。[27]Toh BH, Alderuccio F. Pernicious anemia. Autoimmunity. 2004;37:357-361.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15518059?tool=bestpractice.com[28]Davidson RJ, Atrah HI, Sewell HF. Longitudinal study of circulating gastric antibodies in pernicious anaemia. J Clin Pathol. 1989;42:1092-1095.http://jcp.bmj.com/content/42/10/1092.longhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2584410?tool=bestpractice.com
16% 的消化不良患者中已发现胃体萎缩现象。[29]Lombardo L, Leto R, Molinaro G, et al. Prevalence of atrophic gastritis in dyspeptic patients in Piedmont. A survey using the GastroPanel test. Clin Chem Lab Med. 2010;48:1327-1332.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20604730?tool=bestpractice.com胃体萎缩的发病率差异很大,每年变化范围为 0% 至 11%,并且幽门螺杆菌阳性人群的发病率远高于幽门螺杆菌阴性人群。[30]Kuipers EJ, Pérez-Pérez GI, Meuwissen SG, et al. Helicobacter pylori and atrophic gastritis: importance of the cagA status. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1995;87:1777-1780.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7473834?tool=bestpractice.com[31]Adamu MA, Weck MN, Gao L, et al. Incidence of chronic atrophic gastritis: systematic review and meta-analysis of follow-up studies. Eur J Epidemiol. 2010;25:439-448.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20585973?tool=bestpractice.com在瑞典一项基于人群的研究中,对萎缩性胃体胃炎的诊断基于胃蛋白酶原 I 的血清水平,在 1990 年到 2009 年之间,55 至 64 岁受试者的患病率从千分之 124 下降至千分之 49,而 35 至 44 岁受试者的患病率则始料不及地从千分之 22 增加至千分之 64。[32]Song H, Held M, Sandin S, et al. Increase in the prevalence of atrophic gastritis among adults age 35 to 44 years old in northern Sweden between 1990 and 2009. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2015;13:1592-1600.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25857683?tool=bestpractice.com萎缩性胃体胃炎的危险因素包括幽门螺杆菌和肥胖。目前尚不明确肥胖是如何导致胃萎缩的。