Prevalence of GERD Symptoms in Healthy High School Students

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Introduction: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is common in adults. Population based studies on adolescent GERD are limited. GERD symptoms in adolescents may be associated with food allergies, asthma, cigarette smoking or stress among other possible associations. The GERD-HRQL questionnaire has been shown to be a validated screening tool for GERD symptoms and severity. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of GERD in healthy high school students and its relationship to gender, BMI and type of school. Methods: The GERD-HRQL questionnaire was distributed to all high school students at two schools in the DFW area; one public and one private school. All students were in the 9th to 12th grade. Students were included in the anonymous survey if they returned the questionnaire. Data collected included demographics, height, and weight in addition to the survey questions. Utilization of statistical analysis on GERD-HQRL Questionnaire responses. Results: Completed surveys were returned by 287 students with 138 from the private school and 149 from the public school. The breakdown of the student group by gender was 160 females (56%) and 127 males (44%) and by race was 138 Whites (48%), 35 Blacks (12%), 41 Hispanics (14%), 42 Asians (15%), 28 mixed race (10%) and 3 with ethnicity left blank. The median age was 17 and median BMI was 22.1 with a range of 14.4 to 43.4. On the GERD-HRQL question regarding the severity of the heartburn, 69 students (24%) indicated some degree of heartburn. The majority of these students indicated their heartburn was not occurring daily and was either not bothersome or only somewhat bothersome, 30 (10%) and 24 students (8.4%), respectively. Fifteen students (5%) indicated were either bothersome daily, interfered with daily activities, or were incapacitating. A higher percentage of students with a BMI ≥25 reported GERD symptoms compared to those with BMI < 25, 56% and 28%, respectively. There was no relationship identified between GERD symptoms and gender, race or type of school. Evaluation for the presence of GERD symptoms revealed that 97 students (34%) had at least 1 symptom. Students indicating ≥3, ≥4, or ≥5 GERD symptoms were 30(10%), 24 (8%) and 9 (3%), respectively. Regarding current use of a medication for heartburn 19 students (7%) answered that they were taking a heartburn medication. Conclusion: The GERD-HRQL questionnaire was useful in identifying high school students with more severe GERD symptoms with a prevalence of 8%. The only characteristic that was identified as related to an increased the risk of GERD symptoms was a higher BMI. Once adolescents have been identified with GERD symptoms, the GERD-HRQL questionnaire can be used to monitor changes when treatment is initiated.