Guidelines and recommendations for when preventative screening should occur for cancers and other diseases have been shifting earlier and earlier.

In 2021, the American College of Gastroenterology updated the recommended age for initial screening colonoscopies to 45 from the long-established 50. Just this month, the American Cancer Society recommended those at risk for lung cancer should begin screenings as early as age 50.

And new research presented at the ACG 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting suggests updated guidance may be warranted for Barrett’s esophagus (BE), especially for women with chronic gastroesophageal reflux diseases (GERD).

The results of the analysis were presented right before the beginning of GERD Awareness Month, which occurs in November every year. GERD Awareness Week runs from Nov. 19 – 25 this year. It’s estimated that one in five people suffer from chronic acid reflux and other related symptoms, including heartburn and chest pain. According to the National Institutes of Health, roughly 10 percent to 15 percent of individuals with GERD develop BE.

“Currently, the guidelines say that screening endoscopy [for BE] should be preserved for male patients with chronic GERD symptoms, plus three other risk factors,” investigator Dr. Karina Fatakhova told Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News in October. “Contrary to current guidelines, this study suggested that females also warrant attention concerning the risk and development of Barrett’s esophagus.”

Fatakhova and her co-researchers analyzed hospitalization rates for more than 1 million BE patients in a 10-year span. According to their analysis of the National Inpatient Sample database, 40.4 percent of those hospitalized between 2009 and 2019 were women.

Additionally, compared to men with BE, 57 percent of women with BE also had GERD and 17 percent were obese.

These findings suggest there should be guidelines for screening women for BE, according to the researchers. The analysis suggests women managing GERD and obesity may be at risk for BE, and would benefit from endoscopic screening.

Preventative screening guidelines help prevent late diagnoses of conditions with better treatment outcomes if caught early. Currently, ACG recommends BE screening for men with regular GERD symptoms and identifies BE risk factors as being male, over 50 and a past smoker.