Abstract
ObjectiveTo investigate the prevalence and risk factors of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, a stratified random sampling method was used for collecting samples in the Tibet Autonomous Region. A total of 10,000 individuals were selected from October 2016 to June 2017. A previously-published, validated questionnaire including six items related to the symptoms of GERD was used for evaluating GERD. In addition, basic demographic data, lifestyle, dietary habits, medical history and family history of GERD were investigated to identify risk factors of GERD.ResultsA total of 5,680 completed questionnaires were collected and analyzed. The prevalence of GERD in this area was 10.8%. Age (30–40 years vs. under 18 years, odds ratio (OR): 3.025; 40–50 years vs. under 18 years, OR: 4.484), education level (high school vs. primary, OR: 0.698; university vs. primary, OR: 2.804), ethnic group (Han vs. Tibetan, OR: 0.230; others vs. Tibetan, OR: 0.304), altitude of residence (4.0–4.5 km vs. 2.5–3.0 km, OR: 2.469), length of residence (<5 years vs. ≥5 years, OR: 2.218), Tibetan sweet tea (yes vs. no, OR: 2.158), Tibetan barley wine (yes vs. no, OR: 1.271), Tibetan dried meat (yes vs. no, OR: 1.278) and staying up late (yes vs. no, OR: 1.223) were significantly (all P < 0.05) and independently associated with GERD.ConclusionsThe prevalence of GERD is high in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Geographic conditions, ethnic group and lifestyle are risk factors for GERD.
Highlights
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which results from refluxed gastric contents into esophagus, is a digestive disorder and leads to troublesome symptoms and/orHow to cite this article Zhang H, Gao W, Wang L, Suzhen, Gao Y, Liu B, Zhou H, Fang D. 2019
Several risk factors associated with the unique dietary habits in the Tibet Autonomous Region, including Tibetan sweet tea, barley wine and dried meat, were identified
Staying up late was identified as a risk factor for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD); on the other hand, smoking, no breakfast or consumption of a variety of beverages were not significantly associated with GERD in this study, suggesting that lifestyle and dietary habits are related to GERD pathogenesis (Meining & Classen, 2000; Ness-Jensen et al, 2016; Yamamichi et al, 2012)
Summary
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which results from refluxed gastric contents into esophagus, is a digestive disorder and leads to troublesome symptoms and/orHow to cite this article Zhang H, Gao W, Wang L, Suzhen, Gao Y, Liu B, Zhou H, Fang D. 2019. GERD is common in western countries; the prevalence ranges from 11.6% to 27.8% (El-Serag et al, 2014). In the Middle East and the Indian studies, the GERD prevalence estimates are 8.7–33.1% (El-Serag et al, 2014) and 16.2–22.2% (Kumar et al, 2011; Sharma et al, 2011; Wang et al, 2016), respectively. The GERD prevalence in Asia is increasing (Ho, 2008; Rajendra, Kutty & Karim, 2004), it is much lower (2.5–7.8%) in East Asia (El-Serag et al, 2014) than the Western countries, suggesting racial and geographic factors are important to GERD pathogenesis (Sharma et al, 2008)
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