Background:
The prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is increasing worldwide and
the related chronic symptoms can be associated with morbidity and poor quality of life. Objective: The
objective of this study was to identify foods and beverages consumed by the Lebanese population, dietary
habits, socio-demographic and lifestyle factors, health parameters and perceived stress, implicated in
increasing GERD symptoms.
Methods:
This observational cross-sectional study was carried among
Lebanese adults in 2016. A convenient sample of 264 participants was equally divided into a GERD
group and a control group. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle, health status and dietary
habits including Lebanese traditional dishes were collected. The perceived stress scale (PSS) was also
used to assess the participants’ perception of stress. Logistic regression analyses were conducted with
GERD symptoms (presence or absence) being the dependent variable.
Results:
The GERD symptoms
were significantly associated with age (-p-value=0.017), family history of GERD symptoms (-pvalue<0.001), smoking (-p-value=0.003) and chronic medical conditions (-p-value<0.001). Regarding the
dietary factors, participants who ate three meals or less/day, between meals and outside home were 2.5,
2.9 and 2.4 times at a higher risk of experiencing GERD symptoms than others respectively. Moreover,
the logistic regression model showed that the GERD symptoms were significantly associated with the
consumption of coffee (-p-value=0.037), Lebanese sweets (-p-value=0.027), fried foods (-p-value=0.031),
‘Labneh’ with garlic (-p-value<0.001), pomegranate molasses (-p-value=0.011), and tomatoes (-pvalue=0.007).
Conclusion:
Some specific lifestyle factors and components of the Lebanese
Mediterranean diet could be associated with GERD symptoms.
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