Physiological parameters as independent risk factors for upper gastrointestinal bleeding: A case-control study

Gastrointestinal bleeding is one of the common causes of daily referral to hospitals worldwide. The aim of this study was to assess the risk factors of acute gastrointestinal bleeding.

In this case-control study, the case group included patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding who had referred to Rasoul-e- Akram Hospital, Tehran, Iran from 2013 to 2016, and the control group were selected among hospitalized patients with other diseases (such as rheumatologic disorders). Patients' information was extracted from patients’ file and endoscopy reports. The level of significance was considered less than 0.05.

In the study, 476 patients, including 238 patients in the case group and 238 patients in the control group were evaluated. In the logistic regression model, age over 65 years (OR = 2.8; 95% CI: 1.32-4.6; p = 0.023) and body mass index higher than 25 kg/m2 (OR = 2.3; 95% CI: 1.55-3.91; p = 0.036) were considered as the most important risk factor for acute gastrointestinal bleeding. The history of diabetes was reported as another independent risk factor for acute gastrointestinal bleeding (OR = 1.9; 95% CI: 1.14 to 3.3; p = 0.021).

The results showed that changing of lifestyle and controlling of modifiable risk factors such as obesity can be prevent gastrointestinal bleeding and reducing the complications.