Impact of body mass index and gender on quality of life in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease

Abstract

To investigate the symptom presentation and quality of life in obese Chinese patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Data from patients diagnosed with GERD according to the Montreal definition, were collected between January 2009 to March 2010. The enrolled patients were assigned to the normal [body mass index (BMI) < 25 kg/m(2)], overweight (25-30 kg/m(2)), and obese (BMI > 30 kg/m(2)) groups. General demographic data, endoscopic findings, and quality of life of the three groups of patients were analyzed and compared. Among the 173 enrolled patients, 102, 56 and 15 patients were classified in the normal, overweight, and obese, respectively. There was significantly more erosive esophagitis (73.3% vs 64.3% vs 39.2%, P = 0.002), hiatal hernia (60% vs 33.9% vs 16.7%, P = 0.001), and males (73.3% vs 73.2% vs 32.4%, P = 0.001) in the obese cases. The severity and frequency of heartburn, not acid regurgitation, was positively correlated with BMI, with a significant association in men, but not in women. Obese patients were prone to have low quality of life scores, with obese women having the lowest scores for mental health. In patients with GERD, obese men had the most severe endoscopic and clinical presentation. Obese women had the poorest mental health.