Skip to main content
AAO-HNSF 2025 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Rate ePoster
Video

Care Equity, Quality, and Safety

(A114) Demographic Disparities in Diagnosis of Eosinophilic Esophagitis

Monday, October 13, 2025
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT
Location: OTO EXPO, Posters
Has Audio

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Hardeep S. S. Tiwana, BS

    Medical Student
    Washington State University College of Medicine
    Spokane, Washington, United States

    • Author(s)

  • GV

    Gaayathri Varavenkataraman, MA

    Research Assistant
    Department of Otolaryngology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo
    East Amherst, New York, United States

  • Erin M. Gawel, BS

    Medical Student
    Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo
    Buffalo, New York, United States

  • Amanda G. Baanante, MS

    Medical Student
    Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo
    Buffalo, New York, United States

  • Alex P. Bogosian, BS

    Medical Student
    Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine- Middletown
    Buffalo , New York, United States

  • GM

    Grace Maley, BS

    Medical Student
    Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, United States

    • Senior Author(s)

  • MC

    Michele M. Carr, DDS MD PhD

    Professor
    Department of Otolaryngology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo
    Williamsville, New York, United States

Disclosure(s):
Hardeep S. S. Tiwana, MD: No relevant relationships to disclose.
Erin M. Gawel, BS: No relevant relationships to disclose.
Amanda G. Baanante, MS: No relevant relationships to disclose.
Alex P. Bogosian, BS: No relevant relationships to disclose.
Michele M. Carr, DDS MD PhD: No relevant relationships to disclose.


Introduction: Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic inflammatory disease marked by esophageal eosinophilia and symptoms like dysphagia and food impaction (FI). This study investigates trends in EoE incidence and the association between food impaction and subsequent EoE diagnosis across demographic groups.

Methods: A retrospective review (2016-2024) was conducted in the TriNetX US Network. Annual incidence of EoE (ICD-10 K20.0) in patients < 21 years was extracted. Incidence rates were stratified by sex, race, and ethnicity to identify potential disparities in diagnosis. Additionally, patients presenting with food impaction (ICD-10 T18.12) were identified. Demographics of patients who subsequently received a diagnosis of EoE were compared to those who were not diagnosed.

Results: Over the study period, 42,519 incident cases of EoE were identified, with incidence rising from 27.8 to 65.8 per 100,000 persons between 2016 and 2024 (136.6% increase). Males had nearly double the diagnosis rate of females (88.1 vs. 44.2 per 100,000 in 2024). Also, in 2024, White patients had higher EoE diagnosis rates (84.7 per 100,000) compared to other racial groups including Black (31.5 per 100,000), Asian (37.7 per 100,000), and American Indian (62.2 per 100,000). Non-Hispanic patients also had higher rates of diagnosis compared to Hispanic patients (73.3 vs. 30.0 per 100,000 in 2024). Among 6,215 patients presenting with FI (mean age=11.9 years, SD=6.3), 1,849 (29.8%) were subsequently diagnosed with EoE at a mean age of 14.7 years (SD=4.3). Post-FI, females were less likely to receive a diagnosis than males (OR=0.5, 95% CI=0.4-0.5, p<.001). EoE diagnosis was also less likely in Black (OR=0.3, 95% CI=0.2-0.4, p<.001) and Asian patients (OR=0.4, 95% CI=0.2-0.6, p<.001) presenting with FI, compared to White patients.

Conclusions: Rising EoE incidence may reflect changing diagnostic criteria and increased recognition. Our study revealed marked demographic disparities in EoE diagnosis, emphasizing the need for consistent evaluation in pediatric patients with food impaction to improve outcomes across all populations.