Dissociation Between Symptom Burden and Structural Pathology in Patients Undergoing Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy: A Retrospective Single-Center Study Using Latent Class Analysis

Background and Objectives: Upper gastrointestinal symptoms often correspond poorly with endoscopic and histological pathology. We aimed to identify lifestyle and psychosocial phenotypes and examine their clinical features, objective findings, and symptom-pathology concordance. Materials and Methods: This retrospective single-center study included adults undergoing outpatient upper gastrointestinal endoscopy at a tertiary gastroenterology center in Latvia between 1 May and 31 December 2025. Latent class analysis was applied to questionnaire-derived lifestyle, behavioral, anthropometric, and psychosocial indicators. Classes were subsequently characterized using clinical features, endoscopic findings, and histology. Additional analyses assessed potential confounding by age and sex and exploratory predictive discrimination.

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