Comorbidities are Frequent in Patients with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease in a Tertiary Health Care Hospital

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONSeveral aspects of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) have been studied, but the frequency of comorbidities is not yet fully understood.OBJECTIVESTo study the prevalence of GERD comorbidities in a tertiary care hospital.METHODSWe prospectively studied 670 consecutive adult patients from the outpatient department of our facility. A diagnosis was established using clinical, endoscopic and/or pHmetry-related findings. Each patient’s medical file was reviewed with respect to the presence of other medical conditions and diagnoses.RESULTSOf the 670 patients, 459 (68.6%) were female, and the mean age was 55.94 (17–80 years). We registered 316 patients (47.1%) with the erosive form of GERD and 354 patients (52.9%) with the non-erosive form. A total of 1,664 instances of comorbidities were recorded in 586 patients (87.5%), with the most common being arterial hypertension (21%), hypercholesterolemia (9%), obesity (9%), type II diabetes mellitus (5%) and depression (4%). Two or more comorbidities were present in 437 individuals (64.8%). The occurrence of comorbidities increased with age and was higher in patients with the non-erosive form of GERD.CONCLUSIONSIn a tertiary referral population, comorbidities were very common, and these may have worsened the already impaired health-related quality of life of these patients. Clinicians caring for GERD patients in this setting must be aware of the likelihood and nature of comorbid disorders and their impact on disease presentation and patient management.

Co- and multimorbidity patterns in an unselected Norwegian population: cross-sectional analysis based on the HUNT Study and theoretical reflections concerning basic medical models

“…This finding is in accordance with previous research [19]. Beyond this, our study provides additional documentation of disease clustering, indicating identifiable patterns linked to the selected index conditions gastro-esophageal reflux, thyroidal disease and dental/periodontal health, again in accordance with previous observations [50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60]. Our findings add to the accumulating documentation that patterns of morbidity are ubiquitous and transcend the biomedical dichotomies somatic/mental and organic/functional and also the diagnostic categories within the specialized medical domains.…”

Risk of psychiatric disorders following gastroesophageal reflux disease: A nationwide population-based cohort study

“…In our study, prevalent comorbid diseases associated with GERD presence included hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, congestive heart failure, and cerebrovascular as well as chronic pulmonary diseases, which is consistent with the results of previous studies with the exception of congestive heart failure [32][33][34][35]. No epidemiological studies have investigated the association between congestive heart failure and GERD.…”

A study of the symptoms of gastro oesophageal reflux disease and the associated risk factors in a tertiary care centre

“…This finding supports the previous study by Moraes-Filho JPP et al, who postulated the strong association of co-morbidities with GERD and its worsening effect on GERD. 12 Though heartburn, regurgitation and retrosternal chest pain are the classic presenting symptoms of GERD, in present study these symptoms were not seen in all the patients. Previous study by Kahrilas PJ et al, inferred that heart burn was present in nearly all GERD patients in their study and regurgitation was found in 80% of GERD patients, in contradiction to the results of our present study.…”