Table 1.

Characteristics of the study group

	Normal N=96	Gastritis n=91	IM n=63
Description	Normal histology, H. pylori negative	Chronic gastritis, H.pylori positive	Intestinal metaplasia, H. pylori positive
Gender female%	58%	60%	52%
Age mean ± sd (range)	44 ± 17 (18–82)	47± 16 (18–90)	57± 13* (26–84)
Primary presenting complaint
Epigastric pain	38%	34%	35%
Acid-secretory therapy	29%	34%	29%
Family history of GI cancer	3%	9%	5%

^*p < 0.05: IM significantly older than normal and gastritis groups