GERD

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a digestive disorder that occurs when acidic stomach juices, or food and fluids back up from the stomach into the esophagus. GERD affects people of all ages—from infants to older adults.1

Prevalence

In world

The global pooled prevalence of GORD was 13.98% and varied greatly according to region (12.88% in Latin America and the Caribbean to 19.55% in North America) and country (4.16% in China to 22.40% in Turkey).2 According to a study GERD prevalence was 28.7% in Saudi Arabia.3

In Pakistan

A  study showed that GERD is prevalent in Southern Punjab and is associated with various modifiable risk factors.The study included 308 participants; among them, 55.2% were female and 44.8% were male. The participants diagnosed with GERD (GerdQ score ≥8) were 26.6%.4 A cross-sectional study was conducted in the female clinic of Rural Health Centre, Ghaziabad, Pakistan. The overall prevalence of GERD in rural women was 64.11%.5  Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) has a prevalence of 10-20% in the Western countries while its prevalence amongst the Pakistani population is between 22 to 24%.6 In a study a total of 2000 respondents completed the questionnaire. 69.3% gastroesophageal reflux disease cases were found in participants above 35 years of age while 56.9% subjects were male. The most common lifestyle factors associated with GERD were less exercise time (90.9%) (OR, 6.47; 95% CI, 4.91-8.53), 78.3% participants had habit of eating midnight snacks (OR, 5.08; 95% CI, 4.03-6.40), 87.3% participants reported less interval between dinner and sleep (OR, 6.98; 95% CI, 5.36-9.08). The most important factor relieving GERD symptoms was raising the head of bed during sleep (79.4%) while 43.3% subjects with the habit of post dinner walk reported fewer symptoms of GERD.7

References

  1. Pandit S, Boktor M, Alexander JS, Becker F, Morris J. Gastroesophageal reflux disease: A clinical overview for primary care physicians. Pathophysiology. 2018 Mar 1;25(1):1-1.1
  2. Nirwan JS, Hasan SS, Babar ZU, Conway BR, Ghori MU. Global prevalence and risk factors of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD): systematic review with meta-analysis. Scientific reports. 2020 Apr 2;10(1):1-4.
  3. Alsuwat OB, Alzahrani AA, Alzhrani MA, Alkhathami AM, Mahfouz ME. Prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease in Saudi Arabia. Journal of clinical medicine research. 2018 Mar;10(3):221.
  4. Rasool MF, Sarwar R, Arshad MS, Imran I, Saeed H, Majeed A, Akbar M, Chaudhry MO, ur Rehman A, Ashraf W, Ahmad T. Assessing the Frequency and Risk Factors Associated with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) in Southern Punjab, Pakistan. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy. 2021;14:4619.
  5. Sarwar F, Saleem M, Zaidi FZ. Prevalence of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease in rural women presenting to a primary care hospital. Rawal Medical Journal. 2021 Jul;46(3):533-7.
  6. Majid Z, Laeeq SM, Hanif FM, Khan SA, Tasneem AA, Luck NH. Esophageal motility disorders in patients with gastro-esophageal reflux disease diagnosed by using high resolution esophageal manometry-data from the developing world. Asian Journal of Medical Sciences. 2021 Oct 1;12(10):87-91.
  7. Ahmed S, Jamil S, Shaikh H, Abbasi M. Effects of Life style factors on the symptoms of gastro esophageal reflux disease: a cross sectional study in a Pakistani population. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences. 2020 Jan;36(2):115.