Published online Feb 14, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i6.1932
Peer-review started: August 13, 2014
First decision: September 15, 2014
Revised: September 27, 2014
Accepted: October 20, 2014
Article in press: October 21, 2014
Published online: February 14, 2015
Processing time: 182 Days and 19.9 Hours
AIM: To explore the incidence and psychological and behavioral characteristics of refractory functional dyspepsia (RFD) in China.
METHODS: The subjects of this study were 1341 new outpatients with functional dyspepsia (FD) who were diagnosed according to the Rome III criteria at four hospitals in Guangdong Province between June and September 2012, and 100 healthy volunteers. All subjects completed questionnaires and scales administered.
RESULTS: Three-hundred and twenty-seven of the 1341 patients with FD had RFD (24.4%). Patients with RFD had a longer disease duration and a more severe form of the disease than patients with non-refractory FD (NRFD). The prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms was higher in patients with RFD than in patients with NRFD. The prevalence of unhealthy eating behaviors, lack of physical activity, and sleeping disorders was higher in patients with RFD than in patients with NRFD. Patients with RFD sought medical advice on more occasions and spent more money on treatment than patients with NRFD. Finally, patients with RFD had poorer quality of life than patients with NRFD.
CONCLUSION: RFD is not rare in clinical practice and should get attention by patients and doctors because of its long duration, severe symptoms, and associations with abnormal psychology and poor quality of life.
Core tip: Functional dyspepsia is the most common functional gastrointestinal disease. Refractory functional dyspepsia (RFD) even makes patients see a doctor repeatedly and aggravates their medical expenses. However, there is rare research concerning the psychological-behavioral characteristics of RFD patients until now. Thus we performed a large, multicenter investigation of RFD in China, and the findings may illustrate the importance of recognition and diagnosis of RFD, and provide a basis for clinical treatment and the relapse prevention of this condition.