Internet-based lifestyle advice for heartburn patients

Abstract

IntroductionThe internet has become an increasingly important source of health information for patients. Numerous health-related websites give advice on lifestyle changes for the prevention or treatment of heartburn symptoms. We systematically identified the most common recommendations made on the internet and assessed their validity. MethodologyWe searched for the term “heartburn” on common search engines. We included the first 10 results for each search engine and compiled the lifestyle advice. The recommendations were compared with results from two reviews on the effect of lifestyle changes on GERD symptoms and two guidelines. ResultsWe included 16 websites that provided information on heartburn. All of these websites give lifestyle advice for heartburn, most of them recommending weight management, eating smaller portions, smoking cessation, and not lying down after meals. Suggestions for concrete dietary changes included a less fatty diet and the avoidance of citrus fruits, coffee, and tea. According to current knowledge the evidence for most of the recommendations is weak to nonexistent. DiscussionLifestyle advice for heartburn prevention is very common on health-related websites, though the evidence for these recommendations is insufficient. However, it may be that the advice is based on empirical therapy that has led to relief of symptoms in some patients.