Prospective Study
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World J Gastroenterol. Sep 14, 2014; 20(34): 12277-12282
Published online Sep 14, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i34.12277
Heartburn and regurgitation have different impacts on life quality of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease
Shou-Wu Lee, Han-Chung Lien, Teng-Yu Lee, Sheng-Shun Yang, Hong-Jeh Yeh, Chi-Sen Chang
Shou-Wu Lee, Han-Chung Lien, Teng-Yu Lee, Sheng-Shun Yang, Hong-Jeh Yeh, Chi-Sen Chang, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung 40242, Taiwan
Shou-Wu Lee, Teng-Yu Lee, Chi-Sen Chang, Department of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 40242, Taiwan
Han-Chung Lien, Sheng-Shun Yang, Hong-Jeh Yeh, Department of Medicine, Yang Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei 11217, Taiwan
Author contributions: Lee SW and Chang CS contributed equally to this work; Lee SW, Lien HC and Lee TY designed the research; Yang SS and Yeh HJ performed the research; Lee TY and Chang CS analyzed the data; and Lee SW and Lien HC wrote the paper.
Correspondence to: Shou-Wu Lee, MD, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, No. 160, Sec. 3, Chung-Kang Rd., Taichung 40705, Taiwan. ericest429@yahoo.com.tw
Telephone: +886-4-23592525 Fax: +886-4-23595046
Received: January 23, 2014
Revised: April 9, 2014
Accepted: May 25, 2014
Published online: September 14, 2014
Processing time: 237 Days and 21.8 Hours
Abstract

AIM: To investigate the impact of heartburn and regurgitation on the quality of life among patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

METHODS: Data from patients with GERD, who were diagnosed according to the Montreal definition, were collected between January 2009 and July 2010. The enrolled patients were assigned to a heartburn or a regurgitation group, and further assigned to an erosive esophagitis (EE) or a non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) subgroup, depending on the predominant symptoms and endoscopic findings, respectively. The general demographic data, the scores of the modified Chinese version of the GERDQ and the Short-form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire scores of these groups of patients were compared.

RESULTS: About 108 patients were classified in the heartburn group and 124 in the regurgitation group. The basic characteristics of the two groups were similar, except for male predominance in the regurgitation group. Patients in the heartburn group had more sleep interruptions (22.3% daily vs 4.8% daily, P = 0.021), more eating or drinking problems (27.8% daily vs 9.7% daily, P = 0.008), more work interferences (11.2% daily vs none, P = 0.011), and lower SF-36 scores (57.68 vs 64.69, P = 0.042), than patients in the regurgitation group did. Individuals with NERD in the regurgitation group had more impaired daily activities than those with EE did.

CONCLUSION: GERD patients with heartburn or regurgitation predominant had similar demographics, but those with heartburn predominant had more severely impaired daily activities and lower general health scores. The NERD cases had more severely impaired daily activity and lower scores than the EE ones did.

Keywords: Erosive esophagitis; Gastroesophageal reflux disease; Gender; Life quality; Non-erosive reflux disease

Core tip: The study was aimed to investigate the impact of heartburn and regurgitation on the quality of life among patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The results found GERD patients with heartburn predominant had more severely impaired daily activities and lower general health scores than those with regurgitation predominant. Non-erosive reflux disease greatly impaired daily function in regurgitation-predominant patients, but did not have such impact in those with heartburn predominant.