Dietary and nutritional correlates of gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms: A comprehensive island-wide study in Sri Lanka

Table 1 Self-reported prevalence of food-related triggers for heartburn and reflux in subjects fulfilling criteria for gastroesophageal reflux disease and non-gastroesophageal reflux disease controls, n (%)

Food item	Total (n = 1200)	GERD (n = 304)	Controls (n = 896)	Adjusted OR	95%CI for OR	P-value1
Spicy foods	399 (33.3)	196 (64.5)	203 (22.7)	0.709	0.483-1.042	0.080
Oily foods	393 (32.8)	212 (69.7)	181 (20.2)	0.333	0.226-0.490	0.001
Bread	393 (32.8)	207 (68.1)	186 (20.8)	0.478	0.309-0.738	0.001
Wheat	305 (25.4)	173 (56.9)	132 (14.7)	0.508	0.330-0.784	0.002
Tea	146 (12.2)	85 (28)	61 (6.8)	1.190	0.738-1.919	0.475
Coffee	65 (5.4)	47 (15.5)	18 (2)	0.470	0.239-0.923	0.028
Chocolate	30 (2.5)	19 (6.3)	11 (1.2)	1.154	0.472-2.822	0.754
Fizzy drinks	150 (12.5)	88 (28.9)	62 (6.9)	0.647	0.417-1.003	0.052
Sour	263 (21.9)	154 (50.7)	109 (12.2)	0.510	0.346-0.752	0.001
Milk	32 (2.7)	19 (6.3)	13 (1.5)	0.758	0.329-1.749	0.516

¹Logistic regression analysis, gastroesophageal reflux disease vs controls.

GERD: Gastroesophageal reflux disease; OR: Odds ratio; CI: Confidence interval.

Table 2 Comparison of the number of portions of different food items consumed within a month between gastroesophageal reflux disease and controls, mean ± SD

Food item	Portions consumed per month		P-value1
	GERD (n = 304)	Controls (n = 896)
Bread	19.8 ± 28.9	20.4 ± 27.2	0.608
Wheat	36.5 ± 35.4	38.6 ± 37.7	0.648
Tea	53.6 ± 45.1	58.9 ± 50.7	0.084
Coffee	5.4 ± 14	7.5 ± 22.5	0.255
Chocolate	3.7 ± 8.9	2.3 ± 5.7	0.392
Fizzy drinks	2.7 ± 7.5	2.8 ± 7.8	0.052
Sambol	18.2 ± 17.4	17.5 ± 16.6	0.624
Milk	32.9 ± 31.3	29.8 ± 29.5	0.176
Non-sweet biscuits	36.6 ± 45.3	36.9 ± 46.8	0.922
Milk rice (Kiribath)	4.2 ± 5.3	4.7 ± 5.9	0.260
Hoppers	5.8 ± 12	4.8 ± 9.4	0.183
Rice	65.8 ± 15.4	65.1 ± 16.4	0.733
Meat	21.4 ± 27.4	21.3 ± 25.6	0.558
Banana	29.4 ± 29	28.3 ± 30.7	0.335

¹Mann-Whitney U test, gastroesophageal reflux disease vs controls.

GERD: Gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Table 3 Comparison of nutrient intake and anthropometric parameters between gastroesophageal reflux disease and controls, mean ± SD

	Total (n = 1200)	GERD (n = 304)	Controls (n = 896)	P-value1
Total calorie intake per day (kcal)	2223 ± 532	2234 ± 524	2225 ± 535.5	0.792
Total carbohydrate intake per day (g)	392.5 ± 100	389.6 ± 99.9	393.4 ± 100.3	0.560
Total fat intake per day (g)	44.3 ± 17.4	45.1 ± 16.3	44.0 ± 17.8	0.356
Total protein intake per day (g)	60.1 ± 17.3	60.5 ± 16.5	60.0 ± 17.5	0.707
Total fiber intake per day (g)	21.5 ± 9	21.9 ± 9	21.4 ± 9	0.360
Fruits and vegetable portions per day (g)	4.07 ± 2.2	4.2 ± 2.2	4.0 ± 2.1	0.167
BMI (kg/m2)	24.6 ± 4.5	24.8 ± 4.3	24.5 ± 4.5	0.281
Waist-hip ratio	0.92 ± 0.1	0.93 ± 0.1	0.92 ± 0.1	0.348

¹Mann-Whitney U test, gastroesophageal reflux disease vs controls.

GERD: Gastroesophageal reflux disease; BMI: Body mass index.

Table 4 Correlation between gastroesophageal reflux disease screening tool score and nutrient intake and anthropometric parameters

	Correlation coefficient	P-value1
Total calorie intake per day (kcal)	0.008	0.787
Total carbohydrate intake per day (g)	-0.022	0.445
Total fat intake per day (g)	0.074	0.010
Total protein intake per day (g)	0.031	0.277
Total fiber intake per day (g)	0.075	0.009
Fruits and vegetable portions per day (g)	0.040	0.163
BMI (kg/m2)	0.045	0.117
Waist-hip ratio	0.038	0.186

¹Spearman correlation coefficient.

BMI: Body mass index.

Table 5 Correlation between the bloating score and nutrient intake and anthropometric parameters

	Correlation coefficient	P value1
Total calories intake per day (kcal)	0.046	0.114
Total carbohydrate intake per day (g)	0.019	0.503
Total fat intake per day (g)	0.076	0.009
Total protein intake per day (g)	0.057	0.049
Total fiber intake per day (g)	0.105	< 0.001
Fruits and vegetable portions per day	0.076	0.009
BMI (kg/m2)	0.087	0.002
Waist-hip ratio	0.040	0.162

¹Spearman correlation coefficient.

Bloating score: Severity multiplied by frequency of bloating reported in the gastroesophageal reflux disease screening tool. BMI: Body mass index.

Table 6 Comparison of undesirable dietary habits between gastroesophageal reflux disease and controls, n (%)

	GERD (n = 304)	Controls (n = 896)	P value1
Quick eating (consuming a meal in less than 10 minutes)	166 (54.6)	492 (54.9)	0.926
Skipping breakfast	113 (37.2)	207 (23.1)	< 0.001
Lying down within 2 hours of having a meal	149 (49)	378 (42.2)	0.038
Consuming snacks in the middle of the night	36 (11.8)	51 (5.7)	< 0.001

¹Pearson χ².

GERD: Gastroesophageal reflux disease.